


Mix Match

by OrcGroupie



Category: Bright (2017)
Genre: Bright - Freeform, Drama, F/M, Falling In Love, Fantasy, Fluff and Smut, Heavy Metal, Love, Romance, Sex, Sience Fiction, metal, netflix, orc love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2019-09-12 08:38:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 35,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16869721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrcGroupie/pseuds/OrcGroupie
Summary: Because Nick needs all the love he can get <3Thank you to my wonderful beta <3 morphinetune <3She inspired me to publish this and write more <3Gimme a kudos or a comment if you want me to continue ;-)





	1. Leah

**Author's Note:**

  * For [morphinetune](https://archiveofourown.org/users/morphinetune/gifts).



> Because Nick needs all the love he can get <3  
> Thank you to my wonderful beta <3 morphinetune <3  
> She inspired me to publish this and write more <3  
> Gimme a kudos or a comment if you want me to continue ;-)

 

It seemed like she was staring at the damn phone for hours. Pissing off her roommate is what she was actually doing; with her nose constantly in her smartphone one moment giggling, and the next moment frowning.

Dee glanced back and forth at her, annoyed a bit more than usual until she couldn't take it anymore.

"What's so damn interesting on that phone when we both know you didn't get any texts or calls since you've been here?" She fired at her.

Leah sighed and narrowed her eyes at Dee. She was right, though. There were no texts, no missed calls, nothing on stupid social media.

_What was I expecting?_ She thought to herself. _I left everything and everyone behind when I moved here. Clean fucking slate. New life.  
And what am I doing? Waiting for a miracle while wasting my time browsing 9Gag? That doesn't really qualify as having a life. God I need to move my ass, and soon, before Dee claws my eyes out._

 

Although it was hard to believe, Dee was on her best behavior since she had been staying with her, even though staring at the same person every single day could be a bit annoying. And super depressing.

Her mind was reaching boiling point every time she thought about getting her life back on track. Even though she needed another face in her life. Badly. A friend. Maybe more. No time to be overly picky. But finding someone half decent in this Zoo felt like mission impossible. _"City of Angels my ass.”_ Barely few months in LA and she was already fed up.

 

"I know what you're thinking Dee" she sighed, and looked at her roommate. "I'll do something about my situation. I promise,"

"Too late. Give it here!" Dee shouted, and grabbed her phone. "Time for me to do my magic. WE need to get you laid,"

"C'mon Dee, again with this? Fucking? Is that all you think about for cryin' out loud?" she was getting annoyed.

"You won't find anything meaningful in this city anyway, you might as well get some decent action down there, Leah - and maybe you'll be less grumpy when you embrace all that this city has to offer."

 

Everything was fun and games for Dee. Cock, and more cock was on her mind, 24/7. Oh. That and designer clothes she could barely afford, - but that didn't stop her going to every single high end shop in Elf Town. When she was between boyfriends, she would abuse her credit cards, secretly wishing she would finally hit the mother-load with an Elvish boyfriend.

Like that would ever happen. Not even if she had a magic wand. No inter-species mixing what so ever was the Elvish policy - not that it ever stopped Dee from trying, though.

When it came to Dee, Leah was sure about 2 things: Dee will always be there for her & she will never change. So to avoid any unnecessary fights, Leah tried her best to accept Dee's "Gold digging" ways. Well, the politically correct term for a girl like Dee now was "Orc groupie" and L.A. was _full_ of them.

She, however, was grateful for one thing. Dee never brought her orkish fuckboys back to the apartment to stay the night. Oh - and, since she was staying at her place for free ‘till her inheritance kicked in, she kept her head down and let her do things she normally wouldn't tolerate.

For instance: her phone.

 

"There it is!" Dee exclaimed, "Let's download this bad boy and get you laid sister,"

"Do I even want to know what kind of smut app you are polluting my phone with?" Leah asked with clear annoyance in her voice.

**"MIX MATCH,"** Dee snorted. "All races dating app,”

"Why the hell would you set me up with an all races dating app?” she reached for her phone.

"It looks like you might need a change, considering how your last relationship ended. You know, the one that made you switch continents and land your ass here?! Besides, you need to get your ass off my couch, try something new - and for fucks sake stop being so _grumpy_ all the time! Trust me when I say, “Good cock can make you sing, not just smile!" she laughed as her perfectly manicured claws clutched onto Lea phone like prey.

Leah stared at her as the corner of her lips turned into the most wicked smile she had ever seen Dee make, knowing she was up to something, smiling like she had tapped into secret knowledge no one knew about.

She had no other choice but to back down if she wanted her phone back in one piece. After all, she would just uninstall the app later and be done with it. End of story.

A few moments later the app was installed, and Dee started going through the picture folders trying to find the cutest possible image of Leah, which was a tough job to do, as the two of them couldn't be more different to begin with.

Leah, a metal-head, eternally grumpy and always in black. Dee - a perfect little Barbie with gazillion of duckface selfies and other nasty stuff she normally used to lure in the next victim, or for the lack of a better term, her next fuckboy.

"Do you even have a decent photo we can use where you don't look like you're trying to murder someone?" she rolled her eyes.

"I don't really do selfies, or snap-chats or other crap people are into today. Besides, I don't think I ever had a decent pic of me taken. See this face?" she pointed at the grumpy cat tank top she was wearing, "This cat is my soulmate. Eternally grumpy, just like me!"

At this point Leah was laughing to herself when she noticed Dee took a snap of her using her own phone.

"THERE, PERFECT!" she said with victory written all over her face, "You’re _finally_ smiling, and I took it with the cat ears filter, which by the way looks great, and if you didn't have that stupidcat top, you'd totally look like a normal person!"

Leah face palmed. Scratch that. She double face palmed. “It's Grumpy Cat, not Stupid Cat” Leah pointed out, a bit insulted.

"No one cares, Leah," she snorted again.

"Here, Look!" she was shoving the phone into Leah's face. "See how cute you look? I'm pretty sure you'll get lots of matches and you'll turn that frown into a smile in no time. You are good to go sista." Dee chuckled. "Aaaand done!"

 

********************************************

  
LEAH - 31. SINGLE AND READY TO MINGLE. CAT LOVER.  
OBSESSED WITH CHINESE FOOD AND CHICKEN.  
HEAVY METAL FAN.  
LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO TURN MY FROWN INTO A SMILE.

  
********************************************

 

_Fuck me,_ was the first thought that came to Leah's mind when she saw her profile. Truthfully, the pic was cute, even for her grumpy standards, but Dear God, _she's really gonna make me do this, isn't she?_ Leah thought. _Fuck. Fuck, fuuuuuck._ She fucking hated dating apps, of any kind.

_Just pretend you're OK with it, Leah,_ she tried to calm herself, _you're gonna uninstall the damn thing as as soon as she leaves. Just breathe. Pretend you're not as irritated. Pretending is the key. Breatheeee._

"What?" Dee asked, looking at Leah while her face changed from grumpy, to less grumpy.

"You're up to something, I can tell. Your face - will you stop looking at me like that? What are you up to, woman? Are you going to kill me in my sleep coz I made you do this?" she smiled worriedly.

"That depends," Leah sighed with a straight face. "You have to actually spend one night here for me to do that," she started smiling too.

"But I have other ideas, let's say.... If this turns out to be a waste of time, I'm gonna dye all your clothes black,"

Dee sighed, unimpressed. She knew Leah well. "You wouldn't _dare,_ " she whispered with a chuckle still present in her voice.

Yeah. Dee was right. As different as they were, they were still best friends; well Leah's _only_ friend at the moment, to tell the truth, and she couldn't do that to her or there would be hell to pay. Those nails of hers were weapons.

 

********************************************

 

A moment of silence turned into excitement when Dee's new fuckboy rang the doorbell. She was ready to spend yet another night outside with her new orkish boo, leaving Leah alone. But she didn't mind. She liked her alone time, and Dee snored like a passing train, so she welcomed the nights she was gone.

"Hey, hey! So how does this damn thing work?" Leah shouted as Dee rose fast as lightning, excited to answer the door.

"It’s basically same as Tinder, nothing to it," she started explaining as she gathered her things and headed for the door. "Look at your match suggestions and swipe left if you don't like, and right if you do. If they swipe right on your profile, it will show up as match! And uh, word of advice - if you get matched with an orkish guy, send a message first. They aren’t allowed to make any advances at human females without their permission. Even in the dating app,"

"Really?" Leah was puzzled, "Why?"

"I'll tell you all about it tomorrow, including why you should _only_ date orkish guys too," she burst out laughing as she opened the door. "Get some matches to start with; I'll teach you tricks of the trade tomorrow!"

God that sounded wrong, On so many levels, even when it came from _her_. Dee wasn't a gold digger, per se, but she liked to ‘date’ orkish guys the most. Rich orkish guys, to be exact.

When the door opened Leah could swear that was the biggest orc dude she’d ever seen in person, and for a moment, she was concerned for her 5 foot tall friend. He hoisted her up into his arms like she weighted nothing and gave her a kiss.

"Be careful and have fun!" she shouted back as Dee was closing the door. Not that Dee ever took anyone's advice...

 

********************************************

 

She was back at staring at her phone again. _Hmmm… Why the hell not?_ She thought as the app started displaying not so ugly male matches. _I do hope these are real, I would hate to be cat fished on this stupid thing._

"OK! I need less light and more music for this.” She smiled again. “Let's have a looksie on what LA has to offer.”

 

********************************************

 

As the music started to play, she threw herself on the couch, smiling and swiping.


	2. Nick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, this chapter is a cuteness overload with a surprise at the bottom <3  
> Just in time for Xmas, lil Nicky sugar for all you Nick addicts <3  
> MERRY XMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone :-*
> 
> And PS. Morphinetune - YOU ARE AWESOME <3

He dragged himself up the stairs, tired, annoyed, and his hands full of groceries and Chinese takeout, trying to be as quiet as possible. Elevator was broken AGAIN, and it couldn't have happened at a worse time.

It was 1-fucking-AM, his double shift just ended, and he thought of nothing else but food, and sleep. _Fuuuuck. Illy_ , he thought. _She'll be mad for sure._ Although it’s been almost 2 months since she stole his heart, he could still completely forget about her. Especially after a long day such as this one.

 _I’m an asshole, sometimes, I truly am;_ he sighed.

All this overtime was making him crazy tired, forgetful and he wondered if it would ever get better. 6 months already since the wand incident, and just when he thought his life would get better, now that he's blooded and all, he felt like crap most of the days, without anything making him smile.

Well, with the exception of Illy.

LA changed drastically over the period of last few months and he could feel it. Riots, robberies, murders, magic stuff… Tensions between races... It was getting worse, and some days were just too much that he began to question his decision as to why he wanted to be a cop in the first place.

 

Even his own mother was taking the "crazy road" ever since he told her what happened. Constant research about magic stuff had Nick's phone buzzing several times a day, with missed calls and texts, as she would always send him new info she found, and today was no exception. The fact that he still had crazy nightmares because of everything, only fueled her addiction, as she saw prophecy signs everywhere.

Nick loved his mother dearly, but she was a bit too much lately. He was politely dodging her calls and messages wishing they were from someone more interesting. There's only so much prophecy stuff he could absorb on a daily basis, and he wanted something real for a change.

 

There was nothing more real than two tiny blue eyes staring at him quietly from the dimmed light in his living room the moment he opened the door.

“I know” he mumbled as he struggled to close the door with all the stuff he was carrying. “I'm late again. I smell like sewage, I forgot to clean your litter box this morning too, and I’m an asshole for working so much and leaving you alone all day long.” – He sighed, looking at her.

“But I still love you!? You’re still my No.1 fur-ball! … And I have a can of tuna for you? What do you say? Peace offering?” - He teased with his goofy tusk-less grin.

 

Seconds later, she was running towards him and meowing loudly, climbing his leg impatiently. She’d been all alone during the day and missed him. He laughed as he started spinning like a merry-go-around still holding all the bags, trying to divert her and her tiny claws that were digging into his leg away from his sensitive bits.

He finally placed the groceries onto the counter top and proceeded to pry Illy off from his right thigh. He was always so surprised at how strongly she held onto him.

“We’ll have to do something about your claws fur-ball, first thing in the morning,” – he said as he lifted her up to his face, “I would like to keep my family jewels intact! But first food eh?” – He teased while he proceeded to plant a very loud kiss between her little ears.

“What do you say to a full can of tuna, ha? Would you like that?” – Illy stared at him and meowed loudly in confirmation. “I’ll take that as a yes then,” – he smiled and placed her onto the counter.

Nick knew if he could occupy her with her favorite food, he’d finally have some time to put away the groceries and take a quick shower. Otherwise she would be orbiting him like his own personal moon. So he grabbed a plate and dumped out a whole can of tuna on it, pushed it towards Illy, and watched as she attacked that tuna chunk that was half her size. He gave her a little scratch behind the ears and laughed out loud commenting: “If you eat all of that you won’t be able to walk; you’ll be rolling around like the little fur-ball that you are.”

Another scratch behind the ears, and Nick disappeared to his bedroom. He needed to wash away that double shift city stench from his skin. That Orc nose of his was not doing him any favors today; he could smell how bad he reeked, and so he quickly plugged his phone into the charger next to his bed, and rushed towards the bathroom.

 

********************************************

 

10 minutes later and he was fresh out of the shower, enjoying his own “clean” scent. He put on a pair of sweat pants and white tee and then proceeded towards the kitchen to check up on Illy and eat some (now probably cold) Chinese food.

Illy was still munching on the tuna, and Nick was still smiling as he watched her literally inhale the chunks of it. _Such small kitty, who knew she could eat this much?_ – He thought _._ “A way to a cat’s heart is indeed through her stomach!” – He concluded as the smell of his food was mixing with the strong smell of Illy’s tuna.

They both immersed themselves into their food, and the apartment was silent for another 15 minutes.

Nick finished quickly as he was getting tired and couldn’t wait to go to bed, but Illy was only half done.

“Come on fur-ball, leave something for tomorrow morning,” – he teased, “I don’t want your tuna breath in my face all night long.” – “Here, have some water, and we’ll hit the sack, ha?” - He turned off the lights and slowly dragged himself to the bedroom, with Illy following him.

He threw himself on the bed and decided to take one last look at his messages and set up his alarm when he was shocked by the amount of messages from his mother. _Bad idea,_ he thought; to check his phone at almost 2 am, but he knew he couldn’t ignore his mother for too long, or she would just show up at his apartment or the station. 6 unread texts, 7 missed calls. _Damn mama. Give me a break sometimes, will you?_

 

********************************************

  

********************************************

 

 _I'll just give her a call tomorrow before work,_  he thought, trying to delete his notifications. _Don’t need her barging into my apartment again._

 

He struggled with deleting his notifications barely awake when an app icon he hadn’t paid much attention to in almost a year now piqued his curiosity. **16 FUCKING notifications.** _Didn't I delete this with the rest?_ He raised a brow, wondering.

It was one of those dating apps he used 11 months ago when his date left him alone in the restaurant when she heard he was a cop. He sighed and face-palmed, trying to decide what to do about it. 

 _This one slipped through my fingers,_ he scoffed loudly, going back to that date disaster again in his mind. The more he thought about it, the faster his bad memories came rushing back, and just as he was a tap away from deleting it completely - he paused, sighed and rolled over on his back with the phone in his hand.

One would think now he was blooded that he would have more luck with the ladies, but no. Orc girls still didn’t like the fact that he’s a cop, and other girls, did not like the fact that he was now blooded Fogteeth. _However you look at it_ , he thought to himself, _I can’t seem to catch a break._

He glanced at Illy making herself comfortable next to his pillow. Yeah. He hated coming home to an empty apartment, so rescuing a stray kitty almost 2 months ago seemed like a very good idea. She was adorable and he enjoyed their cuddles, but somehow… It still wasn’t enough. He needed more...

 

 _It must be a sign,_ he sighed sadly, _that this app slipped through my fingers_ , he thought and clicked on the icon.

 _What the hell_ , _positive vibes,_ _can’t be worse than the last time._

 

For a moment he seemed disappointed in his own enthusiasm about giving this app another go, because it was filled with orc groupies and weirdos yet again, until a moment before shutting it off, a smiling face with cat ears greeted him from the screen.

 

He stared. Frozen.

 

 _Damn she’s a cutie pie!_ \- He exhaled happily with that goofy grin on his face again. Suddenly he wasn’t all too sleepy anymore. _Too bad there’s only one pic of her. But we seem to have a lot in common. Same food, music, cats._

 _Leah. Pretty name. Lives only 8 miles away. Human girl. 10 years younger. Likes cats, metal and Chinese food._ “Look Illy, I already have 3 things in common with her.” – Illy was not budging so he poked her.

“Hey Illy. Take a look. She likes cats.” - He shoved the phone into Illy’s half asleep face. “What do you think? You like her?” Illy opened her eyes just to meow at his phone, and turned away from his bright screen to go back to sleep. “I guess that’s a yes from the fur-ball too! It’s only fitting I swipe right for a girl in a Grumpy Cat top,” – he concluded still smiling.

He stared at the screen for few more moments, trying to memorize her... this app would not let him take a screenshot. _Damn you app. Damn you to hell._ Once he swipes, she’s gone and only thing he could do then is wait. If he would be that lucky.

His mind was now working overtime as he started thinking maybe he saw her somewhere, she lives so close. Maybe they met before. At a Chinese place. Or pet store, on a concert down town... _who knows if life had us meet before this moment..._ He smiled to himself letting his imagination run wild.

“Here goes nothing, Grumpy-Cat girl” - he said, swiping right and shutting down his phone with a smile still present on his face.

 

 

 

 

 

That night he slept like a log, nightmare free. With a happy grin still present on his face...


	3. Match

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so next few chapters are gonna be longer than the first two. A lot longer.  
> And I know my fic is a bit of a slow-burner, but smut is coming, no worries :D  
> Enjoy the cute stuff in the meantime <3

That morning, Leah was up earlier than usual. Dee was still out; she wasn’t expecting her back till noon anyway.

She stared at the ceiling for a few moments before deciding to grab the phone on the coffee stand next to her, only to hear a few crackling sounds coming from her lower back.

_I need to talk to Dee about this shitty couch deal first chance I get. I feel like somebody chewed me up and spat me out. She’s out every night, I might as well get the bed, and some decent sleep finally._

Quick look at her phone left her a bit disheartened, but no big surprise there. Still nothing. Mix Match was silent too. _Waste of time, just like I thought. I swiped on at least 10 guys last night, I’m not that ugly for fuck's sake_ \- she sighed checking the app.

Her disappointed sigh was followed by the sound of her own growling stomach. True, she was hungry, but this was way more than that. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but this morning, she was feeling strange. Almost anxious. She was usually feeling this way when something new was going on in her life, so it felt weird to experience this early in the morning, on just another uneventful day, like every other day before it.

 _I hope this fucking day won’t turn into a disaster. I’m so done with crap in my life. I need a fucking break. And some pancakes n' coffee. There’s nothing a good cup of hot coffee won’t fix_ \- she tried to cheer herself up. _Maybe it will even help me get rid of the knots in my stomach._

 

********************************************

 

The smell of blueberry pancakes and coffee filled the apartment when she heard the keys in the front door. It was Dee.

 

"Yo groupie! Did your fuckboy kick you out early today? Have you been a bad groupie?" Leah teased right of the bat, munching on the pancakes.

"Yo Satan worshiper, hope you didn’t sacrifice any goats while I was away," Dee fired back, mocking.

"Hey hey, I ditched that habit when I moved in with you, I know you hate blood on the carpet!"  Leah sprayed the table, trying to laugh and chew at the same time. “But by the look of things this morning, I might have to sacrifice one soon!”

“Please use the bathtub if you do, easier to clean!” Dee teased, laughing as she reached out towards Leah’s food, and pulled it closer. “Gimme some of that! I’m hungry like a wolf!”

 

“After nookie’ munchies?” Leah laughed and proceeded to get another plate of pancakes for herself.

“You know it! Too bad Gunn had some business to take care of early in the morning, otherwise I wouldn’t be here this early,”

“He has a name now? Really?” Leah teased. “You two actually talk sometimes?”

“Yeah, you know, we gotta do something in between the sessions,” Dee blurted out with her mouth full.

“By the way you walked in just now, I wouldn’t say they were long breaks!” Leah was now laughing out loud, when Dee punched her in the shoulder.

“Ouch! Bad groupie! Save your S&M moves for your fuckboy!”

“Don’t make me spank you right here!” Dee burst out laughing. “Anywho, he promised he’d call or text later. He said he might have some news, so I’ll be out of your hair in no time,”

“You made him late, didn’t you?” Leah poked her.

“It was a long goodbye,” She winked at Leah. "If you know what I mean."

“Yeah yeah, Orkish cock is the best cock, and you wish Orkish cocks came attached to Elves. Then all your dreams would come true!” Leah interrupted in reciting voice.

“Listen here, once you try Orc cock, you never go back, or in my case, **WISH THAT ORC COCKS CAME ATTACHED TO ELVISH GUYS!** ” They both shouted at the same time, high-fiving each other and laughing like crazy.

 

“But seriously, joking aside, why are you so obsessed with them?” Leah asked.

“Oh you would be too, if you tried one,” Dee mused.

Leah stared at her, waiting for more details. "Yessss?"

“Oh honey, for a metal head, you’re so innocent,” She patted Leah on the head and stole a sip of coffee from her mug.

“Okay, time to get myself a new mug, I know where that mouth has been this morning,” - Leah teased, only to see Dee sticking her tongue out at her while she proceeded to share her extensive knowledge about all things Orc cock related.

 

“Are you trying to tell me you’ve never even watched inter-species porn?” Her shocked gaze almost slapped Leah across the face.

“Ewww Dee. Why would I ever watch that?”

“Well, if you did, you would have noticed the little protruding ridges at the base of their cocks. They rub the clit in just the right way. **EVERY TIME**.” She whispered. “They don’t teach you these things in biology class, but trust me bestie, never once have I left any of my boyfriend’s cribs unsatisfied,”

“Every time?” Leah asked in an intrigued voice.

“ **E-V-E-R-Y fuckin’ T-I-M-E.** ” Dee leaned back in the chair and took another sip of coffee with a smug expression on her face. “They’re even better than that gold lipstick you hide in your purse thinking I don’t know what it is,”

“That good ha? Damn, now your obsession makes sense. Lucky Orkish girls,” Leah said, astounded.

“Lucky me, and hopefully, lucky you. But that’s not the only reason we’re a good match with Orkish guys; human girls give them what Orkish women can’t,” Dee said smiling and pointing a finger to her mouth. “And that’s the biggest reason they all want a human girlfriend at some point in their lives.”

“Blowjobs? But that... Ohhhh, Orkish girls can't do that. The tusks,” Leah covered her mouth with her hand, laughing nervously.

“Good for us,” Dee continued.

“And good for them,” Leah ended.

“That’s a smart girl,” Dee smiled. “Knew you’d figure it out,” She blurted out as she raised her mug. “Let’s drink to Orkish cocks!” 

“And blowjobs!” Leah added “Cheers, bestie!”

 

********************************************

 

Not even 8 miles away, Nick too was awake. It was the first time after a long period that he was nightmare free and awake before the alarm. He felt good, excited for the new day even though he knew another long shift was awaiting him.

It took him a split second to remember last night, and Leah, and reach for his phone faster than lightning.

_NOTHING._

He stared at the screen and sighed sadly. His mind could have gone into the same wishing and justifying mode like last night, but this morning, his hold on reality was stronger, and he refused to immerse himself into anymore of his wishful thinking and denial.

 _It was a dream, Nick. Let it go. You tried._ He thought, trying to comfort himself, still staring at the phone.

He put down his phone and started searching for Illy. It was unusual for her not to bother him, as all kitties her age demanded constant attention, but then he remembered the big chunk of tuna from last night and concluded she probably wasn’t hungry and why she was quiet, when he at last spotted her sleeping peacefully at the other side of the bed, purring.

He tried to smile at her cuteness, but his Mix Match disappointment was mixed with sadness as he observed the empty side of his king size bed she was sleeping on.

Too many times had he asked himself if somebody would ever share it with him. Too many times, his questions went unanswered.

He got up slowly, heading for the bathroom, then kitchen. He needed to make some food and get ready for work. Chinese from last night was gone, and the only thing that didn’t require too much time or thinking was bacon and eggs. Nothing fancy compared to a can of expensive tuna, but it made him smile to think, _at least Illy will appreciate the change after last night’s stuffing feast_ , and come running.

After all, bacon was one of her favorite foods, and getting yummy treats was always followed with one of her special _'thank you for the food'_ cuddles, and this morning Nick needed some love.

 

********************************************

 

“So, is there anything else that I need to know about Orc men? Or any other _non_ -human men for that matter? When it comes to this damn app? Not that I’ll need it any time soon,” Leah asked, lowering her gaze.

“Avoid Brezziks at all cost. They’re into weird shit. Not even _I’ll_ go there. You won’t find any Elves in there, either - it’s beneath them to be on dating apps. All others are pretty much like humans, except for the Orcs,”

“Yeah, you mentioned something last night about sending the message first?”

“OH YEAH!” Dee interrupted. “It’s an Orc thing, not related to clan or being blooded. They used to get accused of all kinds of sexual violence a few hundred years ago, so it’s the most known unwritten law among the Orcs: NEVER APPROACH A FEMALE OF DIFFERENT SPECIES FIRST. Basically - we’re the ones who have to initiate everything around them, and honestly, I think they enjoy the attention!” Dee snorted. “Dating apps fall under the same category, so…”

“So if I get matched with an Orc I gotta initiate everything? Date? Kiss? Everything else?”

“Pretty much yeah, but only for the first time. They take over later, and we can all go back to pretending to be the girlfriend in the relationship,” Dee chuckled.

“One thing though,” Dee said quietly. “I know you fall in love the moment someone’s kind to you, so try not to fall for an Orc guy. Sure the sex is great, but they are not the type to take you home to their momma. There are very few interspecies relationships that develop into something more meaningful, and there’s a lot of hate still directed at those kinds of relationships, inside or outside their community. Blooded or unblooded. So, be careful with what you do, and who you choose to date, or fuck, for that matter. And oh yeah, and condoms for the love of God. I know you’re on the pill, but these damn Orcs are so potent, it’s better to be protected twice.”

“Duly noted.” Leah replied with her gaze still down.

 

It took Dee a moment, but she finally noticed Leah’s sad gaze.

“So what’s up with you today? No matches since last night? Is that what’s got your panties in a twist this morning? Or you got a match you’re not telling me about?” Dee asked worriedly.

“I swiped on bunch of guys, no hits yet,” She shrugged. “Maybe I’m doing it wrong?” Leah looked up at Dee as if asking for help.

It took Dee mere seconds to grab Leah’s phone again and see if she could work her magic this time around. Dee always had the best of luck of spotting the right kind of matches for herself, and she was determined, (without telling Leah) to find her an Orc fuckboy. Her Orc-cock-dar never failed her.

After few swipes to the left, Dee paused. “What about this guy?” She handed the phone back to Leah. “He looks cute enough,” She continued. “And you have bunch of same interests.”

Leah stared at Nick’s goofy smiling face trying to place him, as he looked familiar. “OH!” She exclaimed. “It’s the Orc guy that was on the TV few months ago, the Orc cop! See, no tusks! Has to be him!”

“Yeah, so?” Dee, stared back unimpressed. “I know who he is, he’s blooded to Fogteeth like Gunn. Good catch too, if you ask me,” Dee shook her head, palms up.

“It’s not that, Dee,” Leah cut in, “This smells like a catfish profile, this dude is famous.”

“Yeah, but hon, cops need pussy too!” Dee laughed. “His profile looks pretty real to me, and that’s a private pic, not one of those floating online. Quickest way to finding out if he’s real or not is swiping right,” Dee ended the conversation abruptly as the phone in her purse rang with a familiar “ **My milk shake brings all the boys to the yard** ” melody, making Leah facepalm, and Dee hurry to answer it. It was Gunn, so she rushed into the bedroom to talk in private.

“YOU BETTER NOT HAVE PHONE SEX, YA HEAR!” Leah shouted behind her, while Dee stuck her tongue out again, winking and closing the door behind her.

 

 _There’s something awfully familiar about him_ Leah thought, analyzing his profile. _And why is my stomach in knots again?_

 

A minute or so later, Dee emerged from the bedroom with a shocked expression on her face, and even before she could get out, “You won’t believe what just happened,” Leah interrupted her with the couch issue that left her back in pain this morning, channeling her inner grandma.

 

"About the couch situation," Leah shyly spoke, interrupting. "You’re barely here during nights, so can I at least use your bed while you’re away?" She looked up at Dee with a pleading face, batting her eyelashes.

"I'll tell you what," Dee said with a smirk. "The bed is yours if you swipe right on that guy, and, if you go downtown with me to MAD MAX club & bar for a job interview Gunn just set up for you!”

"Scuse’ me? What?" Leah replied, mildly shocked.

"My fuckboy just got you a job. If you want it. And you’re welcome,"

"Dee, you know I don't actually need a job. My inheritance should kick in a month or two when all the paperwork is done..." 

"Listen here," Dee interrupted, "I know you’re good money wise, but I’m doing this for you. You need to get out, meet new people, and make new friends. We went through this yesterday for fucks sake!” Dee fired at her, mildly annoyed.

“We’ll both go crazy if you don’t get out, and 2 crazy girls in one apartment is never a good combo. After all, this is one of those metal clubs, so it’s right up your alley. Lots of people that like the same shit as you do. You’re bound to meet someone. Change of scenery is what you came here for, so no more procrastinating on my couch," Dee said, now relaxed, but still staring at her, giving the stink eye.

“You mean, procrastinating on **your bed**?” Leah tried to soften the tension by teasing Dee and winking at her, as she lifted her phone up to show her, as she swiped right on Nick; only to have them both startled by the _ding_ of the app ringing.

 

“HOLY SHIT,” They said in unison, and looked at one another.

“TOLD YOU MY ORC-COCK-DAR IS ON POINT!” Dee started dancing and cheering. “I can spot an Orc in need of some good human pussy a mile away!”

 

“Or in this case, 8 miles. Says here he’s less than 8 miles away!” Leah replied nervously.

"I guess all of this was the big new thing that my stomach warned me about this morning, you gotta do what you gotta do." Leah shrugged, accepting her fate. “At least the bed is mine, we’ll see about the rest!”

 

“So when is this interview at MAD MAX’s?”

“How fast can you make yourself presentable?”

“In less than an hour, maybe?”

“Well then, get off your ass and get ready!” Dee hurried Leah. “They’re already there. And do send that poor Orc a message, gotta do it first, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah! I’ll do it before we leave!” Leah shouted as she rushed to the bathroom.

 

********************************************

 

One thing was sure. Nick was the king of smoothies and pancakes. But cooking? Not his strongest side. Even frying some bacon and eggs was a real challenge for him. Illy’s behavior didn’t help too. When she wasn’t trying to climb his leg to get that yummy bacon, she would wind through his legs, demanding attention. Not a cute thing to do when he was trying not to burn down his apartment with his cooking.

He was already juggling the hot frying pan and spatula, when Ward called asking if he’s interested in going early, so they could both hit the gym in the precinct before their shift. He carefully placed the phone between his shoulder and his cheek, trying not to burn his food while talking to Ward, when a sound from the phone came that made him freeze for a moment. He recognized that sound.

It was the app. His eyes widened and his ears flickered.

_I matched with **her**._

 

Ward was still on the line, talking his ear off for a change, but none of that mattered anymore. Everything went silent in Nick’s head the moment he heard that ding. He screamed happily, and had to remind himself not to jump up and down with a hot pan in his grasp, startling poor Illy in the process, making her jump instead, digging her little claws in his leg and making him almost drop the hot frying pan onto both of them.

Somehow they were safe from serious injuries as he safely placed the pan back onto the stove, with Illy still stuck to his leg, but his phone wasn’t that lucky. He could hear the glass break as the phone landed screen down onto his floor, between his happy shouting and Illy’s scared meowing.

“Fuck.” He sighed, picking up his phone from the ground. He could still hear Ward yelling at him on the other side. He shouted back “Yeah, see you at the precinct early, partner!” Just in time before Ward ended the call.

The screen was shattered completely, leaving most of the phone unusable. There’s nothing he could do at this point but to have it replaced, or to buy a new phone sometime after his shift ends. But that too, this morning, was of no importance. _Fuck the phone and all_ , he thought with a biggest grin on his face _, I matched with the grumpy cat girl._

He stared at the little MIX MATCH icon and notification still visible at the top left corner of the phone while his heart pounded like mad.

 

**YOU MATCHED WITH LEAH!**


	4. Mad Max

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news - I have 4 more chapters after this one waiting for beta. (I've been productive) And, I'm writing more chapters too.....  
> Bad news - I've commissioned some art that's very important to chapter 5, so I'm not posting until the art is finished. Sorry guys :-( Make sure you subscribe to get notification when I update :D
> 
> I'm now on Tumblr - https://orcgroupie.tumblr.com/ - follow me if you'd like <3
> 
> And one last thing. Underlined text is when they talk in Orkish. 
> 
> Hope you like this very long chapter ;-)

Leah was checking herself out at the mirror by the door, waiting for Dee to finish her morning ritual, so they could finally leave for the job interview.

 _One final look before I leave,_ she thought. Gotta look presentable.

By presentable she meant, like a _true_ metalhead.

Lace-up wet look black tights, knee high New Rock boots, mesh long-sleeved tunic and inevitable Grumpy Cat tank top. Her long black hair was loosely braided 'Frozen' style, with a silver skull band at the end. A few spikes here and there, and she was almost good to go.

Leah was one of those rare, naturally pretty girls that didn’t need much makeup. Ruining her face with heavy Gothic makeup was never at the top of her priorities. Full lips and icy blue eyes and a hot outfit was all she ever relied upon.

 _Well maybe black eyeliner this time_ , she mused, still checking herself out. _If my hands would just stop shaking for a moment to do it neatly_ , she thought, still anxious.

“HOT DAMN, WOMAN!“ Dee shouted, emerging from the bathroom door. “Don’t you be breaking no poor Orc hearts on your first visit!“

Finally they were ready to go, but Dee was still circling Leah, scanning her up and down. “Yep. I can see a lot of broken hearts if you go outside looking like that. Who knew you clean up this nicely?“ She slapped Leah’s ass, making her jump.

“Ouch! Save that for your fuckboy! Let’s go already!“

“Here - catch!“ Dee threw the keys at Leah, “You’re driving today, I still have some alcohol in me from last night!”

 

********************************************

 

Nick too was spending an unusually long amount of time in front of the mirror this morning. _Gotta practice my sulking face,_ he mused, giving his best attempt to look down and unimpressed, when every fiber of his being wanted to scream and dance and jump and smile. _If Ward suspects anything I’ll never hear the end of it._ _He’s like a dog with a bone,_ Nick thought _, I’m not in the mood to explain myself to him today._

As much as he tried though, Nick could never hide his true feelings. In some way he was an open book. And to a person like Ward, his partner who saw him almost every day, hiding anything was mission impossible. His face would give him away in an instant, but it didn’t stop Nick from trying.

 

His phone buzzed once it was a sign that Ward was close. He quickly put on his jacket, stroked Illy’s little head goodbye, and rushed down, still trying to frown, _unsuccessfully_.

“Hey partner,“ he greeted, lowering his head, “You smell like you haven’t slept!”

Ward nodded and threw his keys at him. “You’re driving today, let’s get this day over with!“

“Sure thing,“ he replied quickly, and got into the car. “Another fight with Sherri? Same one as always?“

“Yeah,” Ward replied quietly, ”Same shit, every day,“

“You wanna talk about it?” Nick asked politely, still looking away, doing a poor job at hiding the bliss and happiness in his voice.

“Nah man, let’s just drive to work, yeah? Ain’t nothin’s gonna change ‘till I’m retired, and that ain’t happenin’ any time soon, so,” He ended, glancing at Nick.

“You look perky though.” Ward scoffed, “No nightmares last night?”

“Strangely no. Slept like a baby.” Nick replied and placed his phone in the cup holder.

 

Their conversation was interrupted by buzzing of the Nick’s phone, lighting the screen up.

“DUDE!” Ward shouted, “What did you do to your phone, man?“

“Nothing,” he smiled shyly, as he was reminded of Leah again. “I dropped it when I was talking to you this morning. Can’t really use it for anything today,“

“Yeah I can see that, butterfingers,“ Ward replied, checking out the phone himself.

Nick turned to Ward, directing a sideways glare at him.

“Not so funny now, ha?“ Ward teased, “At least you gonna get some rest today from your momma. From what I _can_ read,” he stared at the screen, trying to make out the text, “She’s wishing you a good morning with a side dish of CALL YOUR MOMMA SOMETIMES.”

“I’ll call her tonight,” Nick sighed, “I’m going to have the screen replaced after our shift.”

“Speaking ‘bout your momma, have you talked to her, or any of those Fogteeth freaks lately ‘bout the recurring nightmares? That shit’s been happening almost every night - it ain’t natural, man, maybe your momma’s right about this whole prophecy thing, maybe there’s more to it…”

“No, and I don’t plan to. You know talking to her about these things is like adding fuel to the fire.” Nick was becoming slightly annoyed, “It’s always the same, Daryl - you’re a Bright, the Dark Lord is coming, I was resurrected so I must be the chosen one,” he recited annoyingly, “I mean, it’s all there in the Great Prophecy book, the angel figure too that will supposedly unite the races against the forces of Darkness and usher in a new era... And as of late, she thinks that angel figure is somehow related to me.”

“Yeah, but you know all these things to be true,” Ward interrupted, “We’ve lived them, and you dream them Nick, so why’re you so resistant to anything new that’s related to it? We of all people _know_ that shit’s true, and connected in a weird way!” Ward argued.

“My whole life she’s been feeding me all this Prophecy info, and I loved knowing all about it, all about magic, but things changed when we became involved with it, Daryl. I’m just trying to have a normal, decent life,” Nick replied, “Before shit hits the fan.”

“With every nightmare I’m reminded as to _what_ awaits the earth; the fires, destruction, the pain, _death everywhere._ If these things are a part of the prophecy, then it’s inevitable they’ll happen. I just don’t want to be reminded of it every second until the time comes, that’s all.” He replied sadly, and looked at Ward.

“The dream’s still the same, though?” Ward asked, still fumbling with Nick’s broken phone while shaking his head.

“Yeah, pretty much. You, me, Tikka, bunch of people I don’t recognize, some shadows too, angel lookin’ figure radiating pure light… We all fight the Dark Lord and his followers…”

“That shit’s messed up, man,” Ward scoffed as Nick started the engine.

“You’re telling me. At least you’re nightmare free,” He sighed, “I still wonder if Tikka’s all right.”

“Last time I heard from her, she was still in Europe helping Shield Of Light track down the last of the three Magic Wands. Haven’t heard from her since she left, which means she’s still there, searching.”

“Last?” Nick raised a brow.

“Yeah, Kandomere believes all this shit that’s been happening lately is directly connected to Dark Lord supporters being in possession of one. He even thinks it’s here, in the US,”

“That would explain a lot of things. And why all of us cops are workin’ overtime. The world’s gone mad for sure, wand or otherwise related.” Nick mused as he checked the car mirrors to merge.

“Can you let go of my phone now?” Nick turned to Ward giving, him the stink eye.

“Yeah, just admiring the damage,” he teased, “Better buy a new one man, the phone’s a mess.“ Ward replied bewilderingly, and continued, “My cousin Malik works in that lil’ shop down on 7th \- I’ll give him a heads up to expect you later on, and not overcharge your ass.”

“Thanks partner,“ Nick replied when he heard another familiar ding from the app, with phone still in Ward's hands. The phone lit up, and that little corner at the top left displayed a message from Leah.

 _Oh fuck…._ the voice in Nick’s mind screamed, hoping that Ward hadn’t seen anything, but was reminded yet again how annoying Ward could be when he stuck his nose where it didn’t belong as he started reading Leah’s message out loud, laughing his ass off in the process.

 

********************************************

“HI THERE.”

“I’M LEAH.”

“LOOKS LIKE… WE HAVE SOME THINGS IN COMMON.”

“TEXT ME BACK… IF YA WANNA CHAT SOMETIMES.”

********************************************

 

Ward finished his mocking and looked at Nick with the biggest smirk on his face. “Who’s Leah? And what _things_ do you two have in common?” He wheezed.

Although he still kept his head turned away from Ward, Nick couldn’t hide the fixed, goofy smirk.

“Just a girl on a dating app, nothing special, nothing to tell yet. Her name is Leah. She’s pretty, long dark hair, icy blue eyes, likes metal and cats, and once there’s something to report, you’d be the first one to know,” Nick replied hurriedly, shrugging, “Now let me drive in peace, as we might crash somewhere with you giving me the third degree.”

“Not with your grandma driving skills we won’t,” Ward teased, “But I’ll cut you some slack today, only cause you lost your cool when the pretty girl matched with you,”

“How did you… I didn’t,” Nick stuttered.

“Yeah, save it for somebody who doesn’t know you as well as I do, butterfingers,” Ward smiled, “Now drive, but not through the Elf District again. I don’t care how nice you think it is.”

“Yeah, sure.” Nick replied, relieved Ward didn’t pry more about Leah.

 

********************************************

 

Leah's anxiety only worsened as they pulled onto the parking lot before the MAD MAX club. She swallowed hard when she spotted two huge Orcs by the door, talking and smoking, when one of them recognized Dee's car and waved hello, practically sending Dee into a frenzy as she squirmed happily in her seat like an overly excited poodle, urging Leah to park she could run out to her fuckboy.

 _Ahhhh,_ Leah thought, smiling, _that one must be Gunn, since Dee is already beside herself._

The moment the car stopped, Dee was already out, slowly running in her high heels to throw herself at Gunn, almost twisting her ankle in the process. The other Orc shook his head in disbelief to the scene in front of him and laughed.

Leah locked the door and slowly walked towards them, trying to disguise the apprehension that was eating her up inside. She was never much around Orcs, except for the metal concerts, so the possibility of working here was totally out of her comfort zone, as all her life she tried to avoid them, scared of their size and tendency to be very aggressive when drunk. She had no idea what to expect from all of this, and this uneasy feeling she’d had since she woke was burning a hole through her stomach, making it painfully visible on her face that she was very uncomfortable being here, even though she tried her best to hide it while approaching.

 

"Jezuz Christ you two, do you even have time to breathe?" Leah tried to joke, as Dee and Gunn were going at it like they hadn’t seen each other for months, let alone a few hours.

"Jealous much?" Dee snarled, detaching from Gunn.

Leah sighed and widened her eyes at Dee, quietly scoffing at her.

 

"You must be Leah - hi!" the big Orc turned to Leah and extended his hand to shake her own, "You okay? You look a little bit scared."

"Uhm, No... Just - caught off guard, that's all, by all of this," she stuttered, pointing to the grope-fest that was going on between Dee and Gunn, trying to divert her eyes from him, cause the truth of the matter was, this dude was the scariest and biggest Orc she had ever laid her eyes upon, and the fact that he had two huge scars on each side of his face, very deep and symmetrical, only made her more uneasy.

She’d made it clear to Dee the moment she moved in with her that she wanted nothing to do with gangs her fuckboys were in, and the illegal shit they did. One glance at this dude, and Leah knew he was probably trouble. You don't see Orcs his size with a Glasgow Smile every day.

 

The moment Dee emerged from Gunn’s embrace to catch some air, she read Leah's overall discomfort, and stepped in, finally introducing both Gunn and the big Orc.

"This is Gunn, a.k.a. my fuckboy," she blurted and turned back to him so she could stick her tongue down to his throat again, "And I'm Max," the other Orc interrupted, "And they seem too busy to introduce me at the moment," he added, only to have them both chuckle and stare at the Dee and Gunn face-sucking show.

"That's Max, he owns this bar,” Dee mumbled, trying to keep Gunn’s face away from her lips, ”The club behind, rehearsal place down the street, and bunch of other things, his too - and all legal and shit," Dee replied, moaning and pointing to Max while Gunn kissed her neck sloppily.

 

"For cryin’ out loud you two," Max snarled at them, "Get a room will ya?"

"Good idea" Gunn mumbled, still pretty busy with Dee's neck, "We'll be down at the private booth if anyone needs us," he winked at Max and Leah, and Dee started laughing when she grabbed his hand and started dragging him through the door, into the bar, and heading for the booth.

"You know what they’re going to do there, don’t you?" Leah gazed up at Max.

"Yeah, sadly I do, but Gunn's family, and I owe him," Max shrugged, "But we won’t see or hear them anyway, so let's go inside, let me show you around the bar, introduce you to the rest. You sure you're okay?" Max asked again as they entered, "You look like you’ll barf all over my bar any minute,"

"Nah, I'm fine...” she stuttered, "This day started weirdly. I woke up so anxious this morning for no apparent reason, and then I was surprised by this job interview too, since they went behind my back, that's all... "

"Job interview?" Max was confused, "The job's yours if you want it. Gunn and Dee said this is right up your alley, and that you desperately needed a job," He stared down at her.

"Excuse me, what? Job is mine?" Leah's eyes widened in shock while her mind silently screamed _No no no no no no… Fuck fuck fuck... Breathe Leah… Breathe…_ “JOB IS MINE? Just like that?”

“Just like that, yeah. I need another girl, you need a job, no need to complicate things,” he smiled, “You did work as a barista right? You have experience?”

“Sure yeah, I did, few years ago back home. I’ll need to catch up on my cocktails though,” she laughed nervously, but other than that -”

“No cocktails here love, only beer, coffee, and shots, nothing complicated!” A loud female voice interrupted, her voice ripping through the metal music in the background.

"That's Natalie," Max pointed to the human girl tending the bar, as she waved hello with the widest smile. “You'll be working the day shift with her, nine to five,” he said as they watched her disappear the next second, serving a group of Orcs at the far end of the bar.

 

Leah followed the tall blonde as she made her way through the tables, only to notice that the bar was better looking than she expected. She was quite surprised it looked quite modern, for Orkish and metal bar standards, anyways. She did not expect this kind of ‘metal-elegance’ in Westlake no less. They had regular tables, as well as booths, small stage directly across the bar, grey and dark blood red colors prevailed mostly; everything was neat and clean. The walls were covered with instruments, signed records, framed posters, t-shirts and other memorabilia, and for a moment Leah forgot her nerves looking at the walls full of her favorite bands, giving her the impression of instead being in rock museum, making her gasp in awe every time she recognized something.

“No fuckin’ way, you have Soilwork, Pantera, Fear Factory! Ohhh… In Flames, too! Fuckin’ awesome!”

“Those your favorite bands?” Max asked.

“Yeah, among others, but my absolutely favorite is…” she stopped herself before she outed the name, still looking up at Max.

“Yeess? Go on?”

“I’d rather not say,” she replied shyly, gazing at his scars.

“Why the hell not? I promise if it’s one of those Finnish gay-metal bands, I won’t laugh at you,” Max teased.

“No it’s just that… I don’t wanna insult my new boss the first five minutes of meeting,” she replied shyly, lowering her gaze only to hear Max burst out laughing, like she had told the joke of the century.

“I like you, I really do!” he blurted in between laughs, “You’ll do great here!” he still laughed while Leah joined him, sporting a forced laugh herself.

“Are you going to see them live?” Max asked, “You know they’re playing down at Crematorium club in 2 weeks, right?

“Yeah, I was thinking of buying the tickets to see them this week..” she replied when he interrupted her.

“No, no no! No employee of mine will pay for the tickets in my own club,” the look of shock was back on Leah’s face, “You’re family now, so you’ll be seeing **Scar Symmetry** up close with a VIP AAA pass, or I’m doing a terrible job as a boss, keeping my employees happy.” He finished with a smirk while Leah still had her mouth open in awe.

“You own Crematorium too? You’re like - my new favorite person right now!” she exclaimed, now almost relaxed, only to spot an Orkish woman staring down at them from the balcony above the bar, watching her like a hawk.

 

The woman smiled and winked at Max, but remained silent and motionless otherwise. She was tall and slim, model like built, with a silk scarf around her head; pretty, as far as beauty in Orc girls goes. But there was something about the way she looked at Leah that almost instantly fired up Leah’s anxiety again. She couldn’t help but gaze above, directly at her, letting another anxiety wave wash over her. Unease kicked in so strong this time, that not only Orcs sitting few feet away could smell it, but others could see it on her face as well.

Natalie saw the exchange of the awkward glances between the two as she approached the bar and went in full-on tease mode, trying to cheer Leah up. “Is this big though Orc scaring you, love?” She laughed, punching Max in the shoulder. “One thing you’ll learn is that the bigger they are, the cuddlier, little purring kittens they are on the inside. Hi, I’m Natalie, you can call me Nat!” She chirped happily.

 

“Leah, Leah Adama, nice to meet you,” She stuttered, moving closer to shake her hand when Nat gave her a firm hug.

 

They didn’t notice it right away, but the moment Leah said her full name out loud, Max and the Orkish woman exchanged shocked expressions, and almost instantly moved to meet at the bottom of the stairs next to the bar that lead to the balcony.

 

“You can let go now Nat,” Leah stuttered, “I’m okay -”

“Are you though? You looked like you needed a hug love, and I don’t mind hugging a pretty girl such as yourself,” She smirked at Leah, “It’s her, isn’t it?” She asked quietly, rolling her eyes in the direction of the balcony. “Yeah, thought as much.” Nat replied when she saw Leah make a face in confirmation.

 

For a moment they both watched Max and the woman as they talked quietly in Orkish at the end of the bar, glancing sporadically back and forth at them, when they saw Dee and Gunn join them, and the little group started moving towards them.

“This almost never happens,” Nat whispered to Leah, “There must be something special about you, if she’s down among the _common folk_.”

 

“That was quick,” Leah teased Dee immediately as the group approached.

“Play your cards right with that cute Orc on **MIX MATCH** and you might get some action too. Jealousy is not a good look on you!” Dee fried back, “We’re done here anyways, so me and Gunn are going to head out. The car’s yours - I’ll see you tonight at Mr. Wong’s for dinner, okay?” She got closer, wanting to give Leah a departing hug, but Leah dodged it, escaping behind the bar.

“Bye Dee, don’t dislocate your jaw!” She teased as Dee and Gun were quick to disappear again, only to hear Nat chuckle behind her.

 

Max was not smiling this time. It was clear by his facial expression that something serious was on his mind. He tried to play it cool, but Leah saw he was bothered, shrugging it off for a moment when he invited her to join him in front of the bar.

“This is my wife, Anya,” He introduced with a forced smile on his face.

“Nice to meet you, I’m -” she tried to finish, but was interrupted by Anya, “I heard…” as she barely touched Leah’s hand to shake it, like she was disgusted by her touch.

 _What a condescending bitch_ Leah thought as Anya started circling around her slowly, looking her up and down, making her uneasy again, when she finally spoke, completing a full circle, “Welcome to Mad Max’s, anything you need, don’t hesitate, we’re all family here.” When she turned to go back to the balcony again, Max following her.

“That was weird,” Leah whispered quietly to Nat as Max escorted his wife back up the stairs.

“Trust me, that’s the warmest welcome anyone's ever received from her, including me.” Nat shrugged.

 

********************************************

 

“And?” Max asked worriedly.

“It’s her. Her aura is pure light. The portents were right. It all comes down to this day, this place,” She replied coldly, completely calm. 

“How sure are you?” Max was persistent.

“This place is buzzing with energy today.  I’ve never seen anything like it. Keep her here for few more hours, and just trust me. The prophecy is never wrong.”

“Okay.” He shrugged it off, cocking a brow as he watched her sit at her favorite spot on the balcony. He was usually skeptical about all things prophecy related, but he found himself believing his wife more and more, ever since he witnessed Nick’s resurrection first hand in that church.

 

********************************************

 

“When can you start, Leah?” Max asked bluntly the moment he was back at the bar, and before she got a chance to reply, he corrected himself. “What I meant was can you start _today_? Nat has few more hours in left in her shift, it could be a chance for you to familiarize yourself with the bar for today, and you can officially start tomorrow? We’ll worry about legal stuff and paperwork in the days to come?”

“Sure, I mean, I can stay, I don’t have any plans today,” Leah stuttered, freaking out inside.

“Good, I leave you to Nat’s capable hands, and what I mean by that Nat,” he started directly at Nat, “Be good to her, and none of your groping shit during work hours, we don’t wanna scare her off on the first day, do we?”

“YES BOSS!” Nat exclaimed, saluting him.

 

The moment Max left, Nat turned to Leah only to startle her by asking, “So….What team do you play for love?”

“Team? Uhmm - boys, sorry,” she replied nervously. Nat was one of those girls that looked like she wouldn’t take no for an answer, and she was taller than her, so Leah played coy as to not step on anyone’s toes. After all, she’d have to work with this woman.

“Yeah, I was checking to make sure. Your friend Dee mentioned a Mix Match app and a certain Orc?”

“Ugh, yeah, she set me up with that app last night, I matched with an Orc guy, sent him a message too, but still no reply.”

“So you’re saying I _still_ might have a chance?” Nat continued to flirt.

“Ahm.. You don’t give up do you? Right to the point? But no, sadly, you’re barking up the wrong tree Nat, I like my cocks attached to men!” Leah replied, smiling.

“Foul mouth! I like it!” she teased, “It’s okay love, I’ll survive, unlike you, with a pretty face like that and in a metal club full of Orcs, no less,”

 

“What do you mean?” Leah asked, puzzled.

“One sniff at you and they’ll be able to read you like an open book! Read out any emotion you might or might not have, but you always wanna be a step ahead of them.”

“And that means what exactly?”

“You are a little wet behind the ears, aren’t you love?” she laughed, “Thank God I’m here to teach you… It means you don’t wanna let them read you, like Max and the rest are reading you right now. Here,” she dug out a very expensive perfume bottle from under the bar, “Spray this on, they won’t be able to sniff out your feelings, or your anxiety,” she winked, “Plus it’s better for our tips that they don’t know our true feelings, ya know? Bastards can be stingy if they can smell you’re not interested in them, so with this, they can’t.”

“I see...” Leah nodded, “What else do I need to know?” She took one whiff of the perfume bottle and decided to pass, as perfume was so strong it made her sick.

“What in the world Nat? This stuff is so heavy, so strong!”

“Trust me on this, this shit is expensive for a reason, and I don’t wanna go home with fewer tips just because an Orc can smell you’re not into him!” She added scoffing, as Leah lifted her hands up, silently protesting in her mind, but still letting Nat spray some of that foul perfume on her.

“You’ll thank me later!”

_Seriously doubt that Nat._

 

********************************************

 

The rest of the day went by quickly, with Leah finally relaxed and free of anxiety. The people that frequented the bar would come over to introduce themselves, and she enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere which was greatly helped by Nat letting her play her favorite bands, especially her favorite - Scar Symmetry.

She also chatted to the members of an Orkish metal band that were in the bar when she’d arrived, _Crushed Skull_ was their name, and they were all so excited, talking about the upcoming concert and that they’d be playing local support to the Scar Symmetry, courtesy of Max’s connections. Leah promised she’d come and support them front row during the concert, as some of the music they played for her sounded very promising.

The day wasn’t as busy as it usually got, and Leah was thankful. She was however surprised there weren’t any more humans in the bar, or other races, even though Nat tried to explain most of the other races avoided Orc run bars, except for humans, who shared in their love for all things metal. Humans gathered in large numbers mostly on those days when there was a concert in the club behind, or when the human metal bands had rehearsals, but on normal days like this one, few humans here and there was pretty much normal.

 

“The afternoon shift, human girls too?” Leah asked bluntly.

“Yeah, always love!” Nat smirked.

“Any particular reason?”

“You see love, Orkish run metal bars always get more business if pretty human girls are tending the bar,” Nat was quick to reply, while Leah still stared at her, unsatisfied with the answer, waiting for further explanation. “We’re sort of a tease, you know, like forbidden fruit of sort,” she shrugged, “It’s always been that way, and we’re the best paid baristas in the city for over 20 years now,” Nat explained, “That’s why I’m still here after three.”

 

Leah nodded, realizing how many things she still needed to catch up on in terms of Orcs and other species she’d avoided all her life. Dee and Nat were completely right calling her green about some stuff, and working here suddenly seemed like a perfect opportunity for her to soak up all the knowledge like a sponge, and Nat seemed like the ideal person to help her out. She seemed cool, on those rare moments when they were all into business bar stuff and explaining, when she wasn’t trying to grope her.

She did however spend the last few hours chuckling as she watched Nat flirt her ass off with pretty much anyone just to get those tips, making her cringe in the process.

“Nat, you’re the biggest flirt I’ve ever seen,” Leah teased as they were cleaning out the bar, expecting the afternoon’s shift arrival. “Do these boys know you’re into girls?”

“They know,” she smiled, “Gets them even more excited! Besides, I like guys too, occasionally.”

“I see you play for both teams then, huh?”

“The wider I cast my net, the more fish I catch,” Nat laughed, elbowing Leah, as the door opened abruptly, and instead of the other shift, two hooded, very thin and obviously male figures rushed in shouting, both holding guns in their hands.

 

Leah stood frozen, as she at first had no idea what was going on. It suddenly dawned on her, when a shot was fired into the speakers system, shutting off the music. The guests fled, terrified, their hands already in the air, but she still stood frozen even though everything inside her screamed to move.

She started trembling, scared shitless as one of the very thin men pointed a gun at her, still yelling nonsense she was trying to decipher, and although he spoke clearly, her body and mind decided to shut down and she couldn’t understand a word he was saying. She watched in terror as he get closer to the bar, with his hoodie dropping back, exposing him as an elf. She completely forgot Nat was behind her, but from the corner of her eye, she could see her push the panic button below the bar which made her a bit relieved, as she knew the cops would be there within 5 minutes. _If we live long enough, that is_. _Jezuz fucking Christ, I don’t want to die,_ she thought, and closed her eyes as an involuntary tear started running down her cheek.

The other thin guy that fired a shot at the sound system seemed more twitchy than the Elf, walking around like he had spasms, clearly on drugs of some sort, shouting insults at the Orcs and accusing them of betraying the Dark Lord, and how they don’t deserve the life they have now.

 

“THE DARK LORD IS COMING TO JUDGE ALL PIGS, HE WILL HAVE HIS REVENGE FOR YOUR BETRAYAL! YOU WON'T EVEN BE KEPT AS SLAVES WHEN HE RECLAIMS WHAT IS HIS! YOUR WHOLE RACE WILL BE WIPED FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH! YOU AND YOUR HUMAN WHORES!”

 

The whole bar was quiet, except for a terrified whimper or two that came from Leah, which only made her more of a target.

The Elf was eyeing Leah, still holding the gun at her. Even in his high on narcotics state, he could see there was something _different_ about this human girl, just like Anya had seen earlier, as it was natural for Elves to see more into people, beyond their physical appearance.

He was approaching her slowly, studying her, but Leah’s eyes were still closed as she trembled.

 

“You - with the closed eyes,” he spoke to her directly, only she didn’t quite understand him again, when Nat nudged her, telling her to open her eyes, talk to the Elf, and maybe stall them for a minute or two until the cops came.

Leah opened her eyes, lowering the gaze immediately, trying to avoid any eye-contact as to not piss him off.

“Do you know you are very special?” he whispered quietly, mockingly, while the other one was quiet, holding a group of Orcs at gunpoint. “My Lord doesn’t like special people like you. In fact, he wants us to clear a path for his safe return… By wiping out all people who have that annoying glow you have…” He said, sporting a demonic grin. “I’m sorry dear, but I can’t let you live, you understand? No hard feelings...”

And just as he was about to pull the trigger, he was tackled down at the same time with his buddy by Max and other members of Fogteeth.

Guns dropped loudly as Max and another large Orc knocked them out of their hands. Fists swung hard enough to knock them both back to the floor, moaning and complaining under heavy Orc hands that pinned them down, having them gasping for air, unable to move at all.

 

A group of Orcs that was at gunpoint started cheering and cussing in Orkish at the other person who was revealed to be human, kicking into his rib cage with their steel toed Doc Martens as they walked by to go outside.

Leah was unmoving when Nat approached her from behind to embrace her, while she silently sobbed, her body convulsing. Nat slowly dragged her to the end of the bar, and sat her down, trying to calm her, but Leah was in complete shock.

Max approached them to ask if they were okay, trying to comfort Leah as well, but she had her face buried in her palms, sobbing quietly. Tears fell against the surface of the bar-top, creating a small puddle beneath..

 

“Leah,” Max rubbed his giant hand on her shoulders, as the police sirens were wailing in the distance, growing louder as they approached. “This will never happen again, I give you my word. I’ll have my guys at the entrance every day from now on. Nobody does this to my bar and my family... Not under my watch.”

“I don’t think she’ll be coming tomorrow for work, boss,” Nat said quietly as she stroked her hair, “This was the drop that spilled the glass, she was scared to begin with, and this whole scene might’ve been too much for her.”

 

He sighed quietly as he spotted Anya coming down from the balcony apprehensively, scared as well.

“Bloody bastards, I should have known . If I read the portents, the others might as well read them, too…”

“Should have thought about that sooner Anya,” Max was irritated, “That shit lead them right here, could have warned me, could’ve posted few more guys as security detail.”

“I didn’t know, I didn’t think, I’m sorry… Is she okay?” She asked worriedly.

“She’s in shock, but otherwise good. I don’t think she’ll be coming into work again, though.”

“NO!” Anya exclaimed, “You need to keep her here, by any means necessary. Offer her protection, raise, anything - just keep her here. SHE NEEDS TO STAY HERE! At least for a while, until we’re sure she’s on the right track.”

“Okay, I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t really force her if she doesn’t want to be here.”

 

Anya scoffed, then turned her back to Max and moved to the exit to greet the two police cars that had just pulled up, sirens blasting through loudly.

Some Fogteeth members were already outside telling them they had the assailants in custody, and that they were ready to be handcuffed and escorted outside the bar.

 

Ward came in first, greeting Anya and then Max, and was followed by two more human cops and finally Nick who went straight to the attackers, cuffing them in the process and escorting them out.

“Nick!” Ward shouted from the entrance, the last perpetrator safely locked in the car. “Tell Castillo and Jonas to head out, yeah? You take the statements, and I’ll be up taking the security footage!”

“Yeah, got it partner!” Nick replied, and disappeared for a moment while Ward lingered near the bar, speaking with Anya and Max. Nick returned a moment later to take the statements from the witnesses, and Ward climbed up the stairs with Anya to get the footage from the offices in the back.

“Better start with the new girl at the end of bar,” Max spoke to Nick, and pointed to Leah, “She took this pretty hard, I think she’s in shock. Dude had a gun to her head, threatening to kill her, mumbling some prophecy shit,” Max said evasively, “I’ll have her escorted home after that, just lemme talk to her for a minute first, see if she feels like talking.”

 

Max approached Leah again to find her still upset, wiping tears from her face, her mascara staining her cheeks, “The cops need to take your statement Leah, you feel up to it?”

She sniffled, and nodded, her gaze still averted. She wanted this day to be over with.  _I don’t want to be here a minute longer than I need to be,_ she thought, still wiping her nose and cheeks.

 

“This nice Orc cop is gonna ask you a few questions about what happened, okay?” He turned to point to Nick at the other end of the bar, sending Leah’s mind into overdrive. _ORC COP??? BUT… THERE’S ONLY ONE IN WHOLE L.A._ She gasped, covering her mouth in shock. _IT’S NICK! MUST BE HIM!_ Her mind screamed as she was too afraid to lift her head to make sure it was really him.

A few seconds later, she had no choice as Nick got closer to her with a pen and binder to take down her statement.

“Hello there miss, I’m officer Jakoby, I’m here to take your statement, if that’s okay with you?” He said quietly with unusual calmness in his voice. “Let’s start with your full name and contact details, shall we?”

Leah said nothing, scared to face the reality; as she was now completely sure it was him, from the moment he said his last name. She just sniffled again, now shaking from his presence as he got closer.

“Miss? Your full name?” He asked again only to be shocked the next moment when he recognized the Grumpy-Cat top she was wearing.

“I’m Leah. Leah Adama.” Her voice trembled as she lifted her head to look at him, her blue icy eyes meeting his own fiery amber for the first time.

 

_Holy hell, it’s Grumpy-Cat girl._


	5. Kismet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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> Again, Orc speech is underlined.
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For a minute, Leah was almost glad when the awkward stare-off was interrupted by Nat.

She spotted Nick from the storage room door while getting a pack of wet wipes for Leah from her purse. It didn’t take her long to see the sparks flying between the two, so she decided to give Nick hell, a bit more than usual, at poor Leah’s expense.

 

"Officer Jakoby, so nice to see you in here again," she chirped in her usual manner as she got closer, ready to attack, "Wish it was under better circumstances."

"Hey Nat, how many times do I need to tell you to call me Nick?"

"Not while you're in here on official business, officer," she flirted, "Come by during your off hours, and I'll call you any name you want, love!"

 

Nick coughed and his ears twitched in embarrassment, his cheeks turning rose pink.

 

"I see nothing has changed in here Nat," he stuttered, glancing at Leah.

"Except for Leah here, poor soul. Her first day on the job, and by the looks of it, her last, too. But can you really blame a girl for trying? You know I always like to give you a _hard_ time," she winked, making him uncomfortable again.

 

 _Nat, what the actual fuck? I'm gonna murder you in your sleep if you don't shut the fuck up,_ Leah thought, narrowing her eyes at her, wondering what a hell she was up to all of a sudden, but instead she replied in low voice, "How about you make officer Jakoby here a coffee to go and a tea for me please, I need to calm my nerves? I would like this day over with so I can go home..." she pleaded, batting her eyelashes at Nat, hoping she would just zip it and turn back to flirting with her, but Nat had other plans on her mind.

 

"You don't come in here anymore, that cutie of yours cramping your style now?" she tried to continue the conversation with Nick while she made them drinks, "She still giving you trouble at home?"

 

 _I swear to God Nat..._ Leah was getting mad with each question Nat directed at Nick from her blabbering mouth, but then it occurred to her that this might be a good way to get some info on him, so she decided to lay low and keep her angry thoughts in check for the moment and was actually somewhat grateful for Nat's prying nature.

 _Maybe this was a good thing after all,_ she thought, _I can still spank Nat later for misbehaving - wait, no, she’d probably like that but anyhoo, who the fuck is that cutie she mentioned?_

 

"Nah, life's just been busy lately, that’s all, not much free time on my hands for anything I'm afraid. Work's been hectic too - this city's s been a madhouse lately. But Illy's been a good girl, thanks for asking. She switched from gnawing at everything else, to gnawing my earlobes, but other than that, its same old. She's growing up so fast, jumping all over the place like a bouncing ball. Gotta keep up with her," he chuckled melting in his seat.

 

 _Fuck, he has a kid_ Leah sighed, _probably a wife, too._

 

"What did I tell you Leah?" Nat tapped her on the shoulder, startling her, "The tougher they are on the outside, the softer they’re on the inside!"

"Huh?" Leah replied, confused, pretending she wasn't listening in on the conversation when she noticed Nick was staring at her again, even though he was talking to Nat.

"Wet wipes, please, Nat? Thank you?" she asked in a rushed voice when she noticed it, hoping wiping the runny makeup from her face would be a good excuse to not look at him during the questioning. His glances were already making her anxiety act up again, and being so close to him, she feared she'd do something stupid and scare him off. _Last thing I need is me fucking this whole thing up, if it really is him behind that profile. I’m already shaking as it is._

 

Nat placed the wipes on the counter, not giving up on having a conversation with Nick, "She still hates everyone?" she continued prying.

"Yeah, pretty much. Hisses and scratches at anyone who's not me."

 

 _Ohhh.. The cutie is a cat. I can work with that,_ she mused, still eavesdropping.

 

"We sure miss you around here, just so you know. Won't kill ya to stop by now and then to get a cup of coffee on your lunch break, will it?" she purred at him, leaning over the bar.

 

 _Nat, I swear to god, I'll strangle you like a chicken if you don't stop right this minute._ Leah was boiling inside.

 

"I promise I'll do my best to visit soon, I sure miss your coffee," he smiled awkwardly, cutting her off and looking back at Leah again.

"Well then, your coffee is on the house today."

"Thank you Nat, that’s very kind of you," he paused, "I'd like to talk to Miss Adama now if you don't mind - we can do you next?"

"Oh yeah, please _do me_ next officer Jakoby." Nat blurted out, biting her lower lip which pissed off Leah so bad she decided to do something about it.

"Oh for fuck's sake Nat," Leah stood up pissed, slamming both her fists on the bar top, "Can you be serious for one minute for cryin’ out loud? Jezuz! I'll buy you a vibrator, just calm your tits, jeeze." she hissed.

"Can we please do this elsewhere officer? Far away from _interruptions_?" she asked, grabbing the tea from the counter, "Let's sit in one of the booths."

"Yeah, sure, we can do that," he replied, relieved. He knew Nat was mostly into girls, and she did this only to watch him squirm, but he didn’t need her to tease him, not today, not in front of Leah.

 

Leah followed him between the tables to the nearest booth, carrying the hot tea, and hoping she wouldn’t spill any on herself. All the way there she was tilting her head left and right, admiring how well he filled out that uniform, forgetting about everything else that was going on, which didn’t do her any favors at all. The anxiety and stress from today, and now lust after an Orc she met 5 minutes ago, was not a good combo.

 _Get your mind out of the gutter Leah, you barely know him,_ she tried to reason with herself, but it didn’t help at all. She just stared at his perfect little round butt, wishing she could take a bite of it, right there. _Mmmm nice and round, like a juicy peach..._ She chucked to herself as she sat across the table from him, his eyes still trying to gaze into hers while she looked down, shyly lusting over him.

_He sure is punching a hole in my face with his constant gazing, maybe he recognized me? Maybe his profile is real after all? Is he going to ask me about it now that we’re away from Nat? God I hope not. I’m not ready to deal with it just now._

Just thinking about it gave her chills. This is not how she wanted to meet him, if it ever came to that anyway. _I probably look like a train wreck,_ she thought, _the nausea, bloody eyes, and puffy cheeks from crying, shaking like a crazy person. I'll be lucky if I ever get a reply from him after seeing me like this. Not a good way to meet a cute guy. Definitely not._

 

Luckily for her, Nick thought it was better idea to be as professional as possible from now on, especially after the little show Nat put him through. He proceeded with the questions, while Leah replied quickly to everything. Her eyes were still fixed down as she continued to wipe her face while she answered, not daring to lift her head up again, even though Nick would ask questions sometimes in such way like he was trying to make her look up, to gaze into her eyes again, making her further uncomfortable.

She tried to act as though she wasn’t bothered, but she couldn’t help swallow hard with each stolen glance of his biceps, neck, ears, crotch…Only thoughts that were running through her head now were, _did he recognize me_ and _my fucking God can he be any more perfect?_

Leah was already halfway through the wipes feeling no remorse for using the whole package just to get back at Nat for flirting, trying to mask her feelings with having her face buried in the wet wipes until it became clear that it was no longer an option. He would surely notice they all came out clean now, and she had no reason to wipe herself anymore. She almost started to panic when she heard him say he had no more questions for her, making her quietly sigh with relief, when he handed her over the binder so she could double check the contact info in case they had any follow-up questions.

 

“Yeah, everything’s correct officer.”

“In case we can’t reach you on any of these, is it safe to assume we can find you here?”

“Yeah, I’m morning shift, nine to five, so if there’s anything you need, coffee or statement, you can find me here,” she replied quietly, throwing him a bone.

“Oh, so you’re not quitting like Nat mentioned?” he raised a brow in surprise, pleased with her answer.

“No, it’s weird, but I kind of like it here. I’d like to give this place a second try.” _Since you come here for coffee and all_ , she thought, throwing on a smile.

“Good, then I’ll be seeing you around I guess?”

“Yeah I guess you will be.”

 

She didn’t suspect a thing at that time, but repeating the contact info and extra questions part was mostly for him, because he wanted to remember where she lived, and her phone number, just in case. Even though many other races considered orcs dumb and slow, they excelled at one thing, and that was committing details to memory.

Nick got up from that booth with the biggest grin across his face knowing he had a few ways of reaching her now. _You’re not abusing your position as cop at all Nick_ , he whispered sarcastically to himself.

As he walked over to Nat at the bar, she couldn’t help but stare at his muscular frame again, that tight uniform left her trembling in all the right places. Men she dated in the past were all human, and so different compared to him, but seeing him here, and in that damn uniform made her think of all the things she’d do to him if they were alone. _Fuck me, Dee was right._

This was the first time during this day that she was grateful for that stinky Nat's perfume she had on. _If he was able to sniff me out right now, I'd die of embarrassment._

Leah continued to watch him from the booth, struggling not to drool over the cup of tea Nat made for her to calm her down, playing with the cup every time it touched her lips. If she was in a cartoon, her tongue would roll out like a red carpet.

Her eyes were still fixed on the butt, as he had his back to her, during the entire time he was taking Nat’s statement. She watched him as he shifted his weight left and right during those moments Nat would tease him again, stealing a glance of her still sitting in the booth, when she instinctively decided to take out her phone to take few snaps and video of him, for later _purposes_.

 

Disappointment was clearly visible on her face when he was done with Nat and went outside to take some statements from the Orc group that was also in the bar. He threw a final glance back at her as he exited as she hid her face behind the cup, pretending she didn’t care.

It didn’t take long till Nat teleported next to Leah in the booth, slouching all over her with the widest grin she’d ever seen her make. Just as she was getting ready to give her hell for the shit at the bar, Nat leaned in, her nose an inch away from Leah’s.

 

“You and my boy Jakoby, what gives? And don’t tell me nothing, love, cause I’ve been watching you undress him with your eyes from the moment you two left the bar! And put that cup down, you’ve been tongue-raping it for the past 5 minutes! And you’re telling me _I need_ a vibrator?” she scoffed.

“I could ask you the same thing; for fuck’s sake what was all that shit at the bar about?”

“Oh you mean me giving him hell cause I saw the fireworks between you two, that thing at the bar?” she smirked.

 

Leah widened her eyes and shook her head, expecting a further explanation from Nat.

 

“Relax love, me and him go way back, we’re friends. I always give him hell just to watch him squirm,” she chuckled, “He used to be a regular here. I mean you know the rest, you were listening in on the convo anyways - admit it!”

“Nat,” she exhaled sharply, ”You were brutal, he begun to sweat he was so uncomfortable, can you please go easy on him next time? _If_ he ever decides to come back here after everything today.”

“I can’t help myself, I like to tease him, he’s such a sweetie pie, not unlike the rest of the Orc men you’ll meet. I guess it’s because he grew up with humans. He was blooded to Fogteeth only recently. And as for sweating, look who’s talking. Guess those snaps you took will _come in handy_ later,” she teased.

Leah covered her face embarrassment and mumbled, “Nothing gets past you, huh?”

“Nothing, love,” she blurted out as Leah unlocked her phone, showing her Nick’s profile on Mix Match and shocking her in the process, “Well, this did, “ she smiled, “He’s the Orc I matched with last night.”

“HOLY ORC-COCK! YOU’RE SHITTING ME!” she exclaimed, “Nick? On a dating app?”

“I shit you not, here, look for yourself,” Leah handed her phone over to Nat making her laugh in disbelief, “Well now I know why he was so fucking nervous and why he couldn’t take his eyes off you! I watched guys pine over you this afternoon, but this was something different completely… The boy’s got it bad, love! Never seen him that way, that’s why I was giving him extra hell,” she laughed, “Too bad you won’t be working for us anymore, I’d kill to watch those cute ears of his twitch again in your presence…”

“Nat, I’m not quitting. I told him that. So you might still get your chance to grill him, if it really is him behind the profile.”

“Does it matter now? Fake profile or not, _you just met him_ , and you’re clearly into each other. I have a feeling he’ll be making time during those lunch breaks to get that coffee from now on,” Nat mocked, laughing when the conversation was interrupted by a call. Dee had learned what happened, and she was calling in to check on Leah.

 

Dee being Dee, she didn’t let Leah utter one word the moment she answered the phone, and was already blurting out nonsense and bawling into her phone, worried sick.

“I’m fine Dee, please don’t cry, everything’s fine, I’m about to go home... No, you don’t need to come home, please calm down, I’m really okay… Dee, hon. Please relax, I’ll see you tonight for dinner at Mr. Wong’s like we agreed… Mhm, 8pm, now please no more tears, I’m really okay, we’re all okay… Will you please calm down now. I’m fineeee… Yeah, I will… Love you too, wench… Bye…”

 

Ward and Nick had finished taking the statements but, lingered a few more moments in the doorway, talking to the girls from the afternoon shift that just arrived when Nat remembered Nick hadn’t taken his coffee, and rushed towards him.

 

“Hey Romeo, your coffee!” she shouted, making his ears twitch again, “Be careful, it’s hot!”

“Let me guess, that’s what she said?” Nick scoffed at her, expecting another roast Nat style.

“Well, actually, exactly what she said,” she turned to point in Leah’s direction with a serious expression on her face.

“Really?” Nick took the bait, his eyes wide in surprise.

“You giving my boy hell again Nat?” Ward chimed in, “Who are you trying to match him up with now, huh?”

“He Mix-Matched himself well enough without my help this time _with_ my girl Leah over there,”

“Leah, as in message from this morning Leah?” Ward turned to Nick in surprise, to see him nod, “This is some serious destiny shit right there, man, are you kidding me!? _Leah_ -Leah?”

“Yeah, looks like it,” he shrugged, “I need to message her back soon, to double check. But it looks like her, yeah.”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t say anything?” Ward pressed on.

“No, Daryl, she’s been through enough today, there will be time for it later.”

“You’re hopeless man - hope your hesitation doesn’t cost you some physical love,” Ward waved him off as they walked together towards the car, “I would’ve said something, if I were you!”

“I was just trying to do my job Ward, be professional. After all, she didn’t say anything as well, but that’s to be expected with what she’s been through today..” he went rambling on when Nat teased again, “Yeah, tent pitching during questioning is _veeery_ professional!”

“You dawg, you!” Ward wheezed, joining in on the roast, making Nick wipe his face with his hands in embarrassment.

“You had your fun, ha-ha, very funny, we should really get going now,” he interrupted Ward’s and Nat’s laughter.

“Before you leave,” Nat grabbed onto Nick hand, stopping him for a moment, “Mr. Wong’s, 8PM tonight. She’ll be having dinner with a female friend,” she whispered to his ear, ”And you didn’t hear it from me.” she laughed, patting him on the shoulder as he stumbled to the car, visibly elated.

"Don't forget to name your first child after me!" she yelled behind him, still laughing.

 

********************************************

 

Max and Anya sat at the booth while they waited for Nat and Leah to gather their things after the officers left. He knew Nat had a high tolerance for bullshit that would sometimes happen at the bar. After all, she’s been here a long time, and knew him well. She was family, so to say, but Leah? That was another story. This was her first day and he had no idea if she’d accept his offer, or leave. He wouldn't blame her, even if she decided never to return. But Anya was adamant about keeping an eye on Leah, especially after Nick was the one who showed up with the rest of the cops, so he had to try, or he'd never hear the end of it.

He called them both as they emerged from the storage room in the back, making sure Leah sat next to him. If he could just get through to her, protective fatherly figure style with a little money bonus involved too, he knew he'd have a chance of convincing her to stay.

 

"Leah," he began quietly, "I know that shit you've been through today can't be erased, and I know you don’t feel like a part of our family yet, but let me give you a promise, and I always keep my promises - I will never ever let anything like this happen in my bar again, not on my watch. Starting today, I will have my guys at the door, hell, I'll even have them drive you to work and home from now on, if necessary."

Leah said nothing, while Nat patted Max on the shoulder mumbling something along the lines, "I know love, wouldn’t be here after 3 years if this place didn't feel like home, and you guys, my family. So I'm not going anywhere..."

"I'm willing to give you guys a bonus as high as one month's salary, and of course a few days off to relax, and to think about my offer," he turned to look at Leah.

She took a few breathes and just sighed, "Okay.."

"Okay as in you'll think about it?" Max stared at her.

"Okay as in, see you tomorrow at nine," she smiled looking up at him.

"Just like that?" he asked in disbelief.

"Just like that. Now I'd like a ride home, if that's okay? I need to hose down all the accumulated stress from today." She got up, her stuff still in her hands, waiting, when Max waved over 2 huge Fogteeth orcs, one to drive Dee's car back, and other to give Leah a lift in his car. She chose the bigger, scarier orc that was missing half of his left ear to ride with. For some reason, he oozed safety. If anything should happen, this guy looked like he could handle it. After all, it was the same guy that tackled that human attacker with a gun earlier.

 

"That was way too easy, " Max turned his shocked gaze back to Anya and Nat, "I thought for sure she would be a goner,"

"Yeah, well, you got lucky, love," Nat added, "If it wasn't for Nick arriving with the rest of them cops, she'd probably be _gone_."

 

Anya and Max stared at her, expecting further explanation.

 

"Oh, I guess I'm the only one who noticed the fireworks between them, from the moment Nick approached her. It was funny to watch them both agonize over the meeting they didn’t plan. They actually 'met online', so to say, on a dating app. It's all very recent, and very divine intervention fairy tale type of thing. Like it was meant to be..." she rambled on as Anya turned to Max with a smirk.

 

"I told you so..." she whispered smugly.

"You were right, yet again."

“The pieces are fitting together nicely.” She mused, satisfied with how the events were progressing.

 

********************************************

 

The moment Leah got home, she threw herself on Dee's bed and rolled up in a blanket like a burrito, exhaling deeply in relief. This is the only home she knew in the last few months, and it felt like her safe zone. She was grateful for the bed situation; it would be a pain in the ass if she had to deal with the couch after a day such as this. She was still slightly rattled from everything, but she could feel the anxiety letting up slowly, and she was glad for it. _Enough is enough,_ she thought to herself as she stared at the ceiling, all wrapped up.

Different thoughts swarmed through her mind as she went over the bar incident, pondering about that elf, and all the things he said about her; why he singled her out, and why for the love of God she can't catch a break from all the prophecy freaks. She started thinking about her past and remembered her parents, whose entire life was oriented around the same thing, and she hated it. She didn't want to be reminded of them again, as this elf called her special, just like her parents once did, constantly telling her how one day she would have no choice but to accept her destiny. Unpleasant thoughts threatened to take over, so she tried to shake them by thinking about whether to take that shower or not, but she felt too cozy to get up, and didn’t feel like moving at all until she really had to.

She looked at the phone instead, swiping through the pictures she took while Nick was in the bar, grinning like crazy. Mix Match was still silent, at least Nick wise. She got a few matches during the afternoon, but she didn’t bother to reply any of the messages other men sent.

 _I don't care about the lot of you, not after today, not after Nick,_ she mused, worried she still hadn't received any messages from him during the day. _I won't panic just yet,_ she tried to cheer herself up, _he knows where to find me now, if he's interested. God I hope he is._

 _Maybe it would be a good idea I catch some sleep before dinner, my face is waaay too puffy from all the crying and stress,_ she thought to herself as she set up her alarm to sound 30 minutes before dinner time. That would give her plenty of time to clean up and get herself decent to be among the people again. After all, Mr. Wong’s was only five minutes away by foot from the apartment.

 

********************************************

 

Dee was already in the restaurant when Leah dragged herself through the entrance, wearing her favorite black tracksuit with a cat logo giving a middle finger, an outfit she often wore when she didn’t care about being a metal-head, and just wanted to be comfortable. Her hair was in a messy bun, but no makeup this time, as she knew she'd get teary eyed again when Dee started bawling. She waved hello to the receptionist, Jia, who in turn smiled back, pointing at Dee as she sat at their favorite table, back turned to the entrance.

She slowly approached her and hugged her from behind whispering, "Hey groupie," sending Dee into automatic sprinkler mode, as she started hugging her tightly, sobbing.

 

"Hon, I'm okay, no need to cry anymore," she tried comforting her.

“Yeah but I’m not okay, you know, I couldn’t even think of fucking Gunn for the rest of the afternoon, I was so worried,”

“That bad huh? Good to know I mean more to you than Orc cock,” she teased still holding onto her hand as she sat in the seat next to her.

"You’re the only family that I have, damn the cock and all - the thought of losing you..." she wept, wiping her tears with napkins.

"I know hon, you’re the only family I have too, and shit happens - nothing we can do about it. But I'm alive, thanks to Max and his guys. The police were there rather fast, too…"

"I'm so sorry I set you up with this stupid job, if I’d known..."

"You couldn’t have known Dee, this was totally random. Bunch of drugged guys spewing prophecy shit, shooting things, this was not Max related at all, for what it's worth, I think it was more related to me than Max..."

"What do you mean by that?" Dee was serious all of a sudden.

"It was something one of them said, that reminded me of shit my parents were into as well. I can’t seem to shake the prophecy loons, wherever I go. But enough of that, I have some news that left me shaking far more than this whole shooting ordeal."

"Huh?" Dee was puzzled.

"One of the cops Dee - it was him. It was Nick," she hummed.

"No freakin' way!" she gasped.

"Yeah, and I think there was a connection, although he was professional all the while there."

"That's kismet for you right there! Did he reply to your message on Mix Match?"

"No, and that's what worries me a bit. Whole day, still nothing. Even though Nat was telling me there’s fireworks between us for sure. One of the reasons I didn’t quit the damn job was cause he comes there often for coffee during breaks, even goes to a concert or two."

"Funny, I never saw him there, but then again me and Gun haven’t been together that long."

"Yeah, it’s been a while since he was last there I think, that's why you missed him. And good thing that you _did_ miss him, because Dee, my God, he is _perfect_ ," she gushed, showing Dee the snaps she took.

"You’re right about that, dayum gurl! That ass is tight!" Dee drooled.

"Hey, hey, sister, paws off, he's mine! If he ever replies, that is," she shrugged, "But can we order now please? Last thing I ate today were those pancakes in the morning, I'm starving!"

 

********************************************

 

They were completely immersed in their food, Dee was crunching on her spring rolls, and Leah was inhaling those chicken and veggies noodles, slurping loudly, when she almost choked on her last bite when she saw him enter the restaurant to grab the takeout already waiting for him at the table near the kitchen entrance.

She saw Jia greet him with familiarity, and the thought, _he must be a regular in here, too,_ crossed her mind _._ She swallowed hard, lowering her head, as he didn’t see her yet, shyly looking at him from behind Dee. He was looking around nervously, as though he was searching for something, or _someone_.

Dee thought Leah’s bending and lowering her head was attempts at stealing her food, and since she didn’t feel like sharing her spring rolls, she pinched Leah, making her jump up, just in time for Nick to spot her, and smile in her direction.

 

“Well thank you for that Dee, now look what you’ve done,”

“What are you on about, I just want you to stop stealing my food.”

“Don’t look just now, but right behind you…” she didn’t even finish the sentence but Dee turned to look at him and waved hello as Leah whispered, “It’s him, its Nick.”

 

He paid for his food and walked over to greet them both, with Leah’s and Dee’s eyes still at him as he approached.

 

“Evening ladies; Miss Adama, didn’t mean to interrupt your meal, just thought I’d ask how is everything with you since the incident today at the bar? You were quite shaken,”

“I’m fine officer, thank you for asking, and please, you can call me Leah.”

“And I’m Dee,” she got up to shake his hand, “That takeout for two officer?” she spared no moment, prying.

“Please, call me Nick, I’m not on duty anymore, and no, just me, why?”

“Plenty of food for just one person, that’s all, I thought maybe we were keeping you away from your date or something,”

“No date, I just eat a lot, that’s all,”

“Did you hear that Leah?” Dee exclaimed, “He eats alone. We can’t have that now, can we?”

 

Leah threw on one of her famous ‘what the fuck are you up to now Dee’ expressions, waiting for Dee to embarrass her, in a way only _she_ knew how to do.

 

“I was just about done with my food here, as I gotta be elsewhere, but my friend here will welcome the company, after all, you were one of her heroes today. That takeout food will still be good tomorrow right?” she batted her eyes at Nick, urging him into having her way.

“Uhm, I guess I can heat it up and eat it tomorrow or whatever,” he replied, slightly uncomfortable.

“Great! Please, sit, “ she pulled up a chair and Nick had no choice but to sit down, looking nervously at Leah.

“Dee…” Leah tried to protest, but she wasn’t having any of it.

“You know what they say, if you meet randomly during the same day, you gotta sit down and have a dinner or something,”

“I think it counts only if you meet for the third time, and it’s coffee, not dinner,” Leah snorted.

“Let’s not argue semantics here - L.A. is huge, even meeting someone for the second time in the same day is a huge deal, so please, I don’t wanna hear another word. Enjoy the dinner kids, you have my credit card, so put it on my tab. Byeeee!” she rambled as she stormed out quickly, leaving them in another inconvenient stare off.

 

“That was awfully nice of her, “ Nick interrupted the awkward silence.

“Yeah, that’s Dee for you all right,” she sighed in terror as she decided she would grab the bull by its horns and ask about the Mix Match profile right away. It’s been eating her inside long enough anyways; postponing it would only prolong the torture. _I want this band-aid off now, just to clear the air before my anxiety fires up again. Fuck it all._

“You know Dee didn’t really need to go anywhere, right?” she stated, looking at him as he was trying to take a sip of water Jia had brought.

“Uhm, she didn’t? Then why…?” he mumbled as Leah decided to squeeze her eyes shut and blurt out everything at him.

“She knows that we matched this morning on Mix Match, and she wanted us to have an impromptu dinner date.”

 

Nick started choking on the water and coughing so much that Leah had to get up and pat him on the back to make sure he was okay.

 

“Well that answers my question as to if the profile was really yours,” she said in calm voice.

“The profile is mine,” he replied quietly, “I just didn’t think you’d recognize me, that’s all. We Orcs all look alike to humans,”

“Well, you’re not like any other Orc, are you?” she smiled at him, making him smile in return, ”Is that the reason you didn’t say anything in the bar?”

“I thought you’d been through enough with everything that happened in the bar, I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable…”

“And the unanswered message? Been busy during working hours?”

“Oh,” he stuttered, ”That too, but I mostly blame this for not answering,” he reached out in his pocket to place his smashed screen phone on the table, “I wanted to reply, I heard the message ding, but I couldn’t, I’m sorry.”

“Oh God, I’m sorry too, I thought your profile was catfishing me, you seemed too good to be single, that’s all,” she blurted out, realizing what she had just admitted and started to blush.

“Yeah, I pretty much thought the same about you,” he replied shyly.

“I just picked up a new phone before I came in here, just gotta find some time to transfer all my data and my contacts in it.”

“Well then, we’re here now, so we better make the most of it, since the universe is working overtime to bring us closer together today,”

“Universe or Nat, the same thing basically…” he mumbled quietly, his nose in the menu.

“Nat? I knew it! She told you I’d be here didn’t she? I’m gonna kill her tomorrow!”

“Please don’t tell her, she was just trying to be nice for giving me hell during questioning, but I think that vibrator thingy you mentioned might do her good in the long run you know, to calm her down, ” he paused as they both looked at one another, and started laughing in unison.

“Damn right she needs one, and as soon as Max gives me that bonus he promised today, I’m getting her one. Should work as a pacifier on her!” they both laughed.

 

“Listen, I’m not gonna keep you here long, I know you gotta kitty at home, alone, and we’re both working tomorrow too, so…”

“Oh no, she wouldn’t mind an hour or so, she has food and her litter box is clean…”

“Good! Then please, let’s get you some food, you must be starving after a long day at work,”

“You won’t be eating anything else? I’d hate for you to stare at me while I eat, since you’re finished already.”

“Well maybe a bowl of sweet and sour soup, that’s like my version of dessert,” she chuckled.

“Good idea, I think I’ll have the same thing as dessert myself,” he smiled back at her and called Jia over, ready to order.

 

********************************************

 

She watched him eat while they both casually talked about their jobs, food in general, music and Mad Max, trying to find out what other things they had in common, but still not daring to go into deeper, meaningful topics, as Leah waited for her soup to cool down, constantly stirring, and blowing air over it. She smiled to herself when she noticed his ears twitched back as he chewed and swallowed like in little kittens when they nurse, and in her eyes, it was the most adorable thing she’d ever seen.

 _I can already tell this will be my second favorite part of him_ , she thought, smiling, lost in her thoughts.

Unlike her, Nick ate slowly, balancing between talking, breathing and eating, occasionally stopping to ask her if she was bored of his mumbling; once he got going with his stories, he didn’t know when to stop, and he didn’t want to bore her to death on their first date, impromptu as it was. He tried reading her body language since he couldn’t smell her under that perfume, which was driving him crazy. He hated not being able to use his nose when he had a cold, let alone in important situations such as this one.

Leah didn’t mind him taking the lead, at least with talking, and she enjoyed listening to the sound of his voice, so passionate about what he was explaining, imagining she could hear him purrr sexy stuff in her ear instead when she was woken up from her daydreaming by Jia’s nervous pacing around the table, asking if everything was ok, and if they needed anything else since it was almost closing time.

Both were caught by surprise at what time it was when they looked around the restaurant to find it was just two of them left except the owners.

“Oh, I’m sorry Jia,” Leah started apologizing, _We got lost in the conversation_ , “I had no idea it’s already 11PM! Let me pay so you can close,” they both got up to go to the counter, as Leah paid with Dee’s card.

 

“Miss Leah, that is way too generous!” Jia exclaimed, “Thank you!”

“No thanks necessary, the food was great, and the company too,” she turned to smile at Nick as they exited, “Good night!”

 

********************************************

 

They stood in front of Nick’s car that was parked right in front of the restaurant, very silent and unsure how to end this evening.

 

“Can I offer you a ride home?” Nick finally spoke, “It’s late, and I’d be relieved to know you got home safely.”

“I live like a five minutes away by foot, it’s not really necessary - ” 

“Please?” he interrupted, “I wanna know you’re home and your safe, especially after a day such as this one. I insist…” he got closer, looking down at her, and she liked how protective of her he was in that moment.

“Okay… _if you insist,_ but you’re aware it’s a 2 minute drive?”

“That’s two more minutes I get to spend with you,” he shyly responded as he opened the door for her.

“Just move the phone bag to the back and buckle up,”

“Ah, so you’re an android type of person?” she added as she looked inside the bag, “I’m all for android too, just plug it into your laptop and transfer everything, no problems whatsoever. What model did you get?”

“Oh Ward’s cousin set me up with the newest Samsung, I still need to figure out how it works and transfer all the stuff and Illy’s pics and all.”

“Ohhh… I’d love to see your kitty,” she exclaimed excited, “You gotta send me some pics!”

 

 _I’d love to see your kitty too,_ the thought quickly ran through Nick’s head, making him blush and snort nervously for even thinking it. _I spent way too much time around Nat today, and it rubbed off._

 

“Tell you what, why don’t you take a picture of Illy tonight when you get home, and send it to me with your new phone?”

“Okay, I can do that. But then I would need your number...”

“Didn’t you like get all my contact info this afternoon?” she decided to tease him, “I took me a while, but I _did_ notice the double checking you did.”

“Uhm, yeah... I’m busted, aren’t I?”

“Totally,” she laughed, “But I don’t mind. Here, I’ll make it super easy for you,” she grabbed the new phone from the box, and typed in her phone number the moment it booted up, “I reserve the honor of being your first contact! Now you don’t have any excuses!”

 

He just smiled, when she realized they were already in front of her building.

 

“You don’t have to get out,” she paused while he parked, “I’m good here. See? There’s the main entrance, I’m safe and I’m home.”

“Okay then, have a good night and I’ll do my best to send you that photo.”

“I’ll hold you to it,” she smirked, “And… I had a wonderful time tonight,” she said as she already opened the door, reluctant to leave, “I’d love it if we can do something like this, soon?”

“I would like that too, very much…” he stuttered, hardly believing she said that, “Was wonderful meeting you too!”

“And, of course, drop by Mad Max’s when you can, for a coffee, or whatever, during my shift,”

“I will do my best to find time, you have my word.”

“Okay, we have a deal then. See ya around?” 

“See ya around Grumpy Cat!”

 

********************************************

 

First thing she did when she got home was cover her mouth and face as she screamed happily into her palms. _Ohh he’s into me, he’s really into me!_ She started skipping along the living room towards the bed, kicking off her shoes as she did so. She dove onto the bed, hardly believing what a mad emotional roller-coaster ride the day had been, jumping up and down on the bed like a child.

Twenty or so minutes later, just as she emerged from the shower she completely forgot to take before dinner, she heard a ding on her phone and she knew it was him.

She put on her pajamas, dimmed the lights and threw herself on the bed, reaching out for the phone.

 

 

********************************************

  

********************************************

  

********************************************

  

********************************************

 


	6. Illy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, grab some tissues. If you're a cat/animal lover, you'll cry. :D
> 
> Orc speech is underlined. And as always, I hope you'll enjoy it <3  
> Leave comments or questions below, or on my tumblr OrcGroupie
> 
> Thank you for reading <3

Nat was doing a fine job keeping her mouth shut for the last couple of days, even if it went against her very nature. You could say she was very proud of herself because of that fact; while she watched Leah's little self-loathing performance during the entire morning, as well as few days before.

 _She’s so fuckin' clueless_ , Nat thought to herself as she watched Leah constantly check her phone, walking nervously up and down the bar, hoping she would receive a message from Nick.

But today, she couldn't stand Leah’s sad sighs and constantly having to move out of her way while she paced impatiently all over the bar, so she decided to grab Leah by the shoulders and shake some sense into her.

“WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU, LOVE? YOU'RE DRIVING ME NUTS!” Nat yelled at Leah, only to notice her sad expression.

“Fuuuuck... Did I break you or what?” Nat asked, looking sympathetically at Leah's puppy dog eyes. "Please don’t cry on me now, here lemme give you a hug!" Nat opened her arms.

"The only reason you wanna hug me is to feel my boobs on you, don't cha?" Leah scoffed.

“Are you irritated that I want it, or that Nick doesn’t?” Nat blurted out laughing, only to meet Leah sad gaze.

"Aww shucks, sorry love, did I hit a soft spot? I didn’t mean to..” She tried to apologize only to have Leah interrupt her, rolling her eyes, visibly irritated "You horny woman!" she shouted as she punched Nat in the shoulder.

"I’m not the one who's horny here. What happened with Nick? SPILL, NOW! You’ve been driving me crazy the past few days!" she asked in a demanding voice, "Lay it on me, come on love! Nat has Orc wisdom!" she encouraged Leah.

"There's nothing to tell really. Seems like everything is going south, but not in the way you might think. We had a moment last week, when we met at the Chinese place, but ever since then... Nada. Zilch. Nothing. We have been texting mostly about weather and stupid superficial shit like that, but nothing extra."

"You saw him too, when he quickly dropped by, on those two occasions few days ago to get a coffee. Did he seem at all interested in me?” Leah asked sadly, and before even giving Nat a chance to reply, continued. “I think I’m somehow fucking this all up, I have no idea what I’m doing. That, or he's really not that into me."

"Trust me when I say, HE IS INTO YOU! I've known Nick for quite some time, never ever saw him look at anyone the way he looked at you when he saw you in the bar for the first time. He fuckin’ LIT UP." Nat tried comforting Leah.

"Then I must be doing something wrong?” she sighed desperately, “I keep messaging him first, I invited him to visit me during work hours, and I told him a proper date would also be ok, what more is there?" Leah recited in an annoyed voice, "I can't call him during work hours since we barely know each other, and that would be pestering, so what can I do but wait for the breadcrumbs he barely gives me?” she was now on the verge of tears.

"I like him Nat, I really do, but this crappy waiting he's putting me through is killing me. How am I supposed to live off a few glances of his ass I got last week, when he was here for barely 20 minutes?" she looked at Nat sadly.

"So you actually invited him for a date, and nothing happened in 1 week?" Nat's eyes widened in surprise.

"I didn't invite him per se, it was more like telling him, like giving him permission to ask me out on a date?"

"See, there's your problem love. Orcs don’t fuck around with half-thoughts and suggestions. You need to be direct when it comes to these things. It's shitty, but it's how it’s always been done." Nat shrugged, "And don't kill me, but it’s probably my fault he hasn't showed that much interest in you lately."

"Nat, what the hell did you do?" Leah stared at Nat angrily.

"Calm down love, I didn’t know you're so completely clueless about Orc men, and now I see that I certainly didn’t help you by having you wear that heavy perfume every time you two were together," she looked at Leah, "You see, he was probably trying to sniff you last 2 times he was here, to get some kind of encouragement to pursue you, and you had this fuckin’ perfume on, every fuckin time.” she pointed at the bottle of Rose perfume under the sink, “He probably thought you weren’t into him, or whatever… He doesn’t know what we use it for... I'm sorry..." she started apologizing.

"Nat, I swear to God, I'm gonna hang you by your toes," Leah was furious. “That shit didn’t even cross my mind. I thought he wouldn’t mind being put on the same level as human males.”

"Yeah, they rely on their noses a lot, and refuse to play along if they don’t have the advantage of sniffing out your feelings. I’ve seen it happen before. But, relax love, there's still time to rectify what’s been done. Send him a message right now, ask him to come here. Encourage him, tell him you wanna see him outside this place. Initiate the date, and be blunt about it."

Leah was still fuming when she grabbed her phone and started typing a message to Nick, inviting him over, giving Nat the stink eye in the process.

"I know you wanna strangle me right now," Nat smiled, "She would certainly love to see that happen," she pointed her finger up on the balcony where Anya stood, ever vigilant of the place and the workers.

Leah looked up, rolling her eyes and thinking, _that fucking Anya is seriously pissing me off with her constant lurking and eavesdropping._ She said nothing aloud, and instead looked back at Nat and replied quietly, "Yeah, she just might get it - and you’re paying for our drinks if he ever shows up."

“Deal!”

 

********************************************

 

Nick twitched the moment a message alert buzzed in his pocket, which caused him to misfire the last shot. _Fuck_ , he thought, as he looked around to see if anyone had noticed. Half of the shift was in the shooting range that morning, practicing, and he didn’t need them teasing him for missing the target again when he was doing so well this time.

 _I am not in the mood for any of my mother’s prophecy theories this morning_ , he thought, putting his gun away and taking off his noise cancelling headphones. He didn’t expect Leah's message at all, knowing she only contacted him during the evening. He decided to ignore the message for a little while to avoid ruining his happy moment.

He felt pretty proud of himself when he received his target paper from the distance, and Ward came to congratulate him.

"Better, but you're still a lousy shot," he teased. "Don't think I didn't catch the last shot!" he whispered.

"Yeah, yeah, the phone distracted me," Nick tried to justify himself.

"Leah?" Ward smiled slightly, nudging him, only to see Nick sport a shy smile, "You dawg, you!"

"Nah, it's not Leah, not at this hour. It's probably my mother," he sighed, "And I really don’t have time for that right now."

Nick didn’t feel like talking about Leah today, so he quickly tried to change the subject as the rumbling in his stomach reminded him of his lunch break approaching, "I'm hungry, let's get some food."

"A’ight, suit yourself, ignore me all you want…but," Ward was tireless in his efforts to bother Nick about Leah some more, only to see him blush every time her name was spoken out loud, "But what if it is her?" he continued, "I'll bet you my lunch it’s her!"

"Well, then you better be prepared to buy me that lunch cause..." Nick mumbled, taking out his phone, when he realized it really was a message from Leah, and his face lit up like a Christmas tree.

Ward had to stop himself from laughing out loud, as he always found it funny how quickly Nick would light up when he received a text from her.

"There it is, that smile right there," he pointed at Nick's face, “You’re toast man, completely and utterly into that chick! Don’t you even try to deny it, I can see your little smirk, that face you always make when you get a text from her."

"And what face am I making, huh?” Nick scoffed.

"An Orc who needs some physical love type of face," Ward laughed out loud.

"Oh I see what you did there," Nick replied, his shy smile still fixed on his face while his eyes were glued to the phone.

"So what did she write?" Ward asked.

"Oh, she's inviting me for coffee down at Mad Max's. I'll probably swing by after the shift," he replied quietly when Ward interrupted him, "Dafuq you still doin' here, man? Get yo ass into the car and take your lunch break there."

Ward stood in the doorway with a serious expression on his face and pointed to the exit door, "Walk or I'll kick you out,"

He was on the verge of bursting out laughing, wheezing, as he tried to hold it in, "I'll cover you with the chief, so make sure your ass is here by 2!"

"I owe you one." Nick quickly replied as he put his sunglasses on and walked out.

"Go get yourself some of that physical love!" Ward shouted behind him, only to see Nick giving him the middle finger as he walked outside.

 

********************************************

 

Leah had her back turned on the rest of the bar, washing the beer mugs over the sink when Nat suddenly elbowed her gently. “Leah, love! To your left!” Leah turned her head to catch a glimpse of Nick, fine as ever in his dark blue uniform, as he started walking towards the bar.

Bar chatter was suddenly quiet as Nick was wound between tables, nodding to other Fogteeth members he recognized, greeting Max as he carried some items to the storage room, taking off his sunglasses in the process.

“Officer Jakoby! Good to see you again!” Nat greeted in a polite voice with a smirk on her face, “The usual?”

“Yeah, Nat, thank you, coffee to go please.”

“Leaving so soon?” Leah turned to face him, “But you just got here!”

“Yeah, can’t stay long, I’m on my lunch break. Popped in to check on you. How’ve you been?” he asked, smiling as he extended his hand to shake her own as he had always done so far.

“Oh, I’ve been pissed, since you haven’t been visiting lately,” she replied, staring directly at him, making him slightly uncomfortable.

She kept his hand locked in the handshake a tad longer than usual while Nick tried to figure out how to reply.

“Really?” He raised a brow in surprise, “I… I had no idea you wanted me to visit. I… I didn’t want to bother you by dropping in every day...” he stuttered.

“Bother me? Don’t be silly, I invited you. I wasn’t aware I needed to invite you on each seperate occasion!” her face was now mellow and she smiled, only to see Nick smile in return.

“How about we sit in the booth down there?” she pointed at secluded booth at the end of the bar, “I’ll take a break too, and we can catch up on these past few days?”

“Yeah, sure, why not,” Nick agreed happily.

 

“So tell me, how’s your new phone doing? Still in one piece?” she teased as they sat down.

Nick quickly pulled the phone from his pocket to check it, “Still in once piece!” he sighed in relief, “Had all my data transferred the other day, now my phone is full of cat pics and metal music again.”

“Pretty much the same as mine,” Leah chuckled, “Minus the Mix Match app” she added quietly, expecting a reaction from him.

“You're not on Mix Match anymore?” he smiled at her, pleasantly surprised, "You deleted it?"

”Yeah you know, other guys selfies were not nearly as cute as the one you sent, so..." she flirted, making his ears flicker with excitement, "It was gone from my phone that same night we had dinner at Mr. Wong’s."

"I didn't know that... I mean, that's good to hear," he stuttered.

“Yeah, you said you’re not installing it back on your new phone as well, so I thought I’d do the same, and add it to the list of things we have in common,”

“That’s... Wow… Okay then,” he began to blush realizing what it actually meant.

"What are you doing to my poor boy Jakoby, huh?” Nat chimed in with their drinks, "His ears are going nuts," she teased only to have him reach up with his palms to calm his twitching earlobes, "And you still wonder if he's into you?" she turned to Leah, "Knowing him, you're probably the only girl he swiped on that app anyways,"

”She's telling the truth you know," he spoke shyly, "If I didn’t see your profile, app would’ve been gone that same night!”

“I'm the only girl you swiped on?” her eyes widened in surprise.

“Yeah, pretty much,” he added shrugging.

"I don't know what to say… That’s… Wow…Okay then…” she smiled at him, mimicking his words, while the world stopped for a second.

"Well I have loads to say bout’ you two, number one - stop dancing around the fact that you two are into each other and do something about it!" Nat remarked in her own style as she left the booth, leaving them both quite embarrassed and shocked.

"My God Nat, will you shut your gob? Seriously! That's not even remotely funny!" Leah shouted back.

 _Funny’s a good word for it_ he thought, not expecting this whole situation to escalate that fast, but instead he just smiled, glad that it had cause he knew things could only get better from this moment on, when his train of thought was interrupted by Leah’s excited voice.

“I haven’t forgotten you still need to show me bunch of pics,” she remained him as he was still lost in his own thoughts.

“Huh? Pics?”

“Yeah, you show me yours, I’ll show you mine?”

“Excuse me?” Nick gasped.

“Cat pics Nick! Illy’s pics!” she laughed out loud, “The ones you promised to show me when you transferred your data? You just said your phone is full, and as a fellow cat person, we should share in the cuteness!”

“Oh, well I only have Illy’s pics at the moment, I didn’t transfer the rest,” he mumbled.

“I don’t mind, from what I’ve seen, she’s a cutie pie. I wanna see you two goofing around!”

“It’s Illy that does all the goofing around,” he smiled, unlocking his phone. “You don’t think it’s strange a grown ass man has a phone full of his cat’s pics?”

“I think it’s adorable. Some people our age have phone full of kids pics, so why can’t we have cats if we don’t have kids?”

“Yeah, my mother would really like it the other way around,” he sighed sadly, “She doesn’t like it when I send Illy’s pics, so I stopped sending them.”

“Whaaat, who wouldn’t like a kitten this cute?” Leah replied, annoyed.

“Trust me, the feeling is mutual. Illy doesn’t like her either,” he snorted.

“Well, in any case, I WOULD LOVE to get Illy updates, so you’re welcome to spam me with her cuteness!” Leah added, “Now I wanna see what you got on your phone!”

As they swiped through hundreds of cute Illy pics, you could only hear _Awww, So cuuuute_ and _Adorable_ from Leah as she melted in her seat. Nick smiled watching Leah’s face. It was nice, for a change, to meet someone who shared in the love he had for Illy, but wondered if Illy would hate Leah too one day if things got serious between them. This little furball was so possessive, and Nick was fully aware of it.

“Is she purebred?” Leah asked, “She looks purebred?”

“My cousin Jayne says she might be, but we’ll never know,” he shrugged, “Didn’t really come with pedigree, since I found her in the dumpster.”

“WHAAAT?” Leah exclaimed, “Thought you got her from a breeder or that you adopted her.”

“No, it was the other way around. I think she’s the one who adopted me,” he smiled and continued, “She’s my little rescue project, my little furball dumpster cat! Quite the story on how I found her too.”

“I wanna her all about it, now!” she said in demanding tone and turned to the bar to signal to Nat that she wanted two more coffees, then leaned in closer to Nick.

 

“Well…” he started, “It was one of those rainy autumn days last November, when the temperature was very low, and it seemed the rain would never stop. Super heavy cold drops poured down that day, and for a time it felt like hale on my scalp. In any case, not a good day to be outside for sure. Cat, human or Orc."

"Me and Ward had a morning shift that day, which was about to end when we got a call about a home invasion."

"Funny enough - the dumb guy was still there when we arrived and he got spooked when he saw us and started running, so we chased him down the blind alley - well, Ward was chasing him, cause I can't run that fast - so I stood my ground by the huge metal dumpster in the middle of the street, waiting for Ward, cause I knew, this was the only way in or out of this street, and the thief had no way to go, when I saw Ward at the end of the street, tackling the guy down and cuffing him up."

"Now this guy tried to put up a fight as Ward lead him up the street to the car. He was kicking and screaming his lungs out about police brutality, but he got so quiet when he saw me in police uniform waiting for them that it made Ward laugh out loud and call him a pussy before throwing his ass into the car."

"As they were passing me, I heard what sounded like a faint whimper, maybe a meow. Now, I wasn’t really sure at that time, but it sounded like it was coming from the garbage heap placed next to the full dumpster."

"So I ask Ward if he heard anything. Naturally his hearing is not as good as mine, he just yelled it’s probably rats and that I get my ass out of the rain and into the car so we could dump this guy into the brig and go home."

"But I was so bothered by that cry that I decided to investigate where was it coming from. I start moving pieces of garbage, and by this time, I was soaking wet, when I see a curled up kitten on a piece of very wet cardboard."

"This kitten was very small, maybe a month old - wet, filthy, thin; I almost started tearing up when I saw its little head look up at me trying to meow. This time, only its jaw moved, but nothing came out. So I took a step closer, tryin’ my best not to spook it, but it seemed beyond that, as it was so thin and malnourished. It looked like it couldn’t really move."

"So Ward started yelling at me again to get my ass into the car, and I’m still standing there in the fuckin’ rain trying to decide what to do here, cause I knew if I left this kitten, it would surely die, alone, in the cold rain without any food. So I take a look around and step back under the balcony nearby to get some shelter from the rain - it was really fuckin’ hurting my scalp - keepin’ my eyes on the kitten, still holding my position, tryin’ to think the situation over, when I see this teeny tiny body get up, and slowly wobble its way to me."

"Poor thing tried to meow again, no sound, but I could see it was struggling and shaking in the process, so I go out into the rain again, and as I crouched down next to it, I noticed this little wet thing was a baby girl, and this little fragile cutie came close to me, no fear whatsoever, and tried to rub her head against my boots, as if she was saying, please take me home. So I stroked her little wet head between the ears, and this little being started purring at my touch. **SHE FUCKING PURRED** despite all the misfortune she had been dealt, and I knew right there and then, I couldn’t leave her there. I mean there were rats in that garbage pile bigger than her, there was no way I was leaving her there."

"So I pick her up - she was so small, she fit in my whole damn palm, but she was so calm it was unreal apart from trembling of course, and she placed her head on my wrist, grabbing my palm with little strength that she had left, as if she was saying, don’t let go please, and she fucking purred again. In that moment, I was completely bought.” he paused to take a sip of coffee, and lean back in the booth when he saw Leah’s eyes tearing up.

“Poor little baby…” she sniffled, and listened as Nick continued.

“So I started talking to her, like a crazy person, tryin’ to soothe her, like where’s your momma cutie, are you here all alone, when she would just try to meow again, and bury her tiny claws into my wrist. So I stroked her little head some more so she would relax, and as I got up, I took a final look around for her momma, or any siblings that she might have, but there was nothing. She was all alone in this world, and she was going home with me."

"As I walked to the car in the pouring rain, with her in my arms, both of us wet to our bones, I remembered I had a towel in the trunk, so I got that and I wrapped her into it like a little burrito. Her front paws were out, and as I cranked up the heating, this little furball starts kneading in my chest purring loudly."

"Ward thought I was mad. He was shaking his head, lecturing me, and he was half right. I was never home, how could I take care of a tiny little cat? Then I remembered my parents have this big ass house and a yard, and she should have plenty of space for shenanigans there once she’s all healed up.”

“Aren’t you just a big softie?” Leah purred as she leaned in even closer, resting her chin on her hands as she watched Nick do the same taking another sip of coffee.

“So what happened next?” she asked, entirely invested in his story.

“Well, I was trying to figure out what to do next. I wanted to take her home first to give her a bath, she smelled so bad poor thing, but then I remembered my cousin Jayne is a vet, maybe it’s best I take her there first to check her out."

"As we were driving back, I phoned up my cousin, she said to bring her right over, and so I did. When we got to the precinct, Ward took over the thief processing part, so I just took my car and drove us to my cousin’s workplace, without even changing out of my uniform."

"All the way there I kept checking on her to see if she still alive. Last thing I needed was her dying on me when I was trying to save her life. I turned down the music just so I could hear her purr, still wrapped up like a ‘lil burrito."

"I drove to the vet’s place my cousin worked at, stepping on it like a madman I swear, trying to be get there as fast as I could, fearing for her life."

"So we got in, and my cousin called us back us right away. She unwrapped the lil kitten burrito and started checking her out, especially her breathing since I told her she wasn’t meowing, and her heart. Now this little furball was so calm and sleepy, probably from malnourishment and hypothermia, so after checking her up, Jayne took her to the kitty tub to give her a warm bath immediately and check her fur and skin for fleas and such. I was so fuckin’ relieved she at least didn’t have any of those."

"She did however have a cold, and apart from confirmed malnourishment and hypothermia, Jayne gave her some shots and fluids and other medicine she mixed in the ‘lil bottle with warm milk. I fed her while Jayne was drying her, trying to raise her body temperature."

"Jayne also told me she’d have some problems for the first few days with her bowel movement, cause you know, she was too weak to use the kitty litter, so she asked me to pay attention as she was putting on little kitty diapers cause I’d have to do it for the next few days."

"If I wasn’t so worried about her, I would be laughing my ass off at that right there. Not because it was funny, but because it was the cutest thing I’d ever seen.” Nick stopped for a moment, laughed, then continued, “She looked more alive after the bottle, and the medicine, so I wrapped her back into a warm towel while Jayne was prepared some medicine and diapers to take home. She gave me a list of things I needed to get from the pharmacy and the pet store, and while I was leaving she shook my hand laughing, and congratulating me on for becoming a cat parent."

"Jayne was totally right - it surely felt that way. I mean, I had pets when I was a kid, but I never fully took care of a pet on my own, and this for sure felt a bit like parenthood to me. Taking care of a small fragile life was not something I thought about, as I was always so self-sufficient."

"So I packed this lil purrito in the carrier box, and we were on our way to get more medicine and stuff I needed for home.”

“Lil purrito, awww that’s so cute,” Leah chuckled, melting in her seat, but still keeping an eye contact with Nick and absorbing every word coming from his lips.

“I think I bought half of the pet store that afternoon,” he continued, taking another sip of coffee, "Even though Jayne warned me not to overdo it, since there was still a big chance this lil thing might not make it through the night. But I didn’t care, I was determined she would, so I thought, _be positive Nick_ , cause you know, it's how the universe works. So I bought more diapers, food, milk, treats and toys, kitty litter, scratching posts, bed - you name it! My trunk was full, and I had to go to twice to my car to get everything up into the apartment."

“When we got home, I took her out and placed her kitten bed onto the middle of my bed so that I could keep an eye on her while I showered and changed, but that was a waste of time and money. She slowly exchanged her new bed with my pillow, and by the time I was out of the shower she was already sleeping, and I didn’t have the heart to move her."

“And that is the story of how I lost my favorite side of the bed! THE END!” he laughed out loud again and continued, “So that night, and every other night after it I slept on the other side of the bed and she slept on my side. I even made a lil blanket wall between us so I wouldn’t crush her while I slept, but that didn’t help much, as I found her snuggled next to me gnawing on my earlobe the very next morning, kneading and purring a lot louder than the day before. I guess she appreciated the familiar smell and the warmth.”

“Aww the poor baby was hungry,” Leah sighed sadly again.

"Even though she kept me up all night during the first few days, cause I had to be awake every few hours to feed her and check up on her, every day there was progress, and her behavior change every morning gave me hope that she’s really getting better, and I was relieved that I saved this teeny tiny life from certain death in that alley."

"So every morning before work, I'd get up to make her a bottle mixed with medicine, and place her back on my chest until she chugged the whole thing down, scratching that little fluffy head of hers in the process. She was my girl now, and I didn't even mind the diaper changing!"

"Yeah, I meant to ask you about that," Leah laughed, "How did you survive the whole diaper change thing?"

"I got used to it, ya know, when you're determined to succeed at something, and I was pretty determined to keep her alive, I didn't mind the butt washing at all.”

“Yeah well, that’s practice for you right there, cause one day, if you have kids you’ll be ready for diapers and butt washing!” Leah teased, only to have him look at her with such intensity in his eyes, she could have sworn it was the look of a man in love.

“So… During the first few days,” he continued, “I was lucky to work the afternoon shift so I was able to spend nights mornings with her, but I had to phone my mother to take over for the rest of the day since I couldn’t leave her alone yet."

"Surprisingly, my mother said yes to taking care of her for the next couple of days while I was at work, and she was slowly getting better and better. Snuggling, meowing, playing; I was so happy when she would climb up on my chest, look into my eyes with her little ice blue gaze and lick my nose while purring loudly."

"And to be honest, even though I initially planned for my parents to take her when she was better, I was extremely happy when my mother said she couldn’t take her in. Apparently, _the damn cat hates her guts_ , and she scratched her every time she went to pet her,” he laughed.

“I know my mother is a bit much for people, just didn’t know she’d have same effect on cats too,” he concluded and they both started laughing when Nick’s phone lit up. It was his mother calling him.

“Speak of the devil,” he grinned, and got up to take the call outside, away from metal music still blasting in the bar.

He returned after 5 minutes, visibly irritated, and sat back in his chair, taking another sip of the coffee.

“Everything ok?” Leah asked.

“Yeah, now you can see first-hand what 5 minutes on the phone with my mother does to me.”

“Ouch, that bad?” she replied frowning at him sympathetically, “I can relate. My parents were bit of a handful too at times,”

“Yeah, were they prophecy freaks like my mother is? She’s constantly on my case about the Dark Lords Return and a bunch of other things, ever since…” he stopped himself from rambling on when Leah interrupted, “Yeah, actually, they were exactly that. The famous ADAMA family with BRIGHT blood running through their veins. I got sick of it at early age, that’s why I was, and still am, a bit of a rebel.”

“Famous ADAMA family?” Nick asked, puzzled.

“Yeah, just ask your mother, she’ll know,” she shrugged off, trying to change the subject as she saw Anya was now joined by Max on the balcony, and it seemed that both of them were eavesdropping on their conversation.

“Let's add that to the list of things we already have in common,” Nick replied, interrupting Leah as she looked up.

“The list keeps on growing,” she smiled, “Funny how life plays tricks on you huh?” she added winking at him.

Nick sighed sadly, looking at his wristwatch. His lunch break was almost over and he had to move on. “Uh, erm, looks like we’ll have to continue this conversation later; have to go back to the precinct, Ward will be waiting for me. We have some fire arm training to do still, apparently I’m a lousy shot.” he smiled.

“You’re not going anywhere until I hear the rest. Sit your ass down, finish the coffee, and then you have my permission to go.” she smiled back at him.

“There’s nothing to tell. She got better, I was fucking psyched that she did and she stayed with me. She hates my guts for being away too much for work probably, but I try to make it up to her with cuddles and treats when I’m home.”

“Aren’t you two the cutest duo possible, Mr. Big Tough Orc daddy-cat and a tiny kitty in a diaper?” Leah purred in a baby voice as she extended her hand to pinch his cheek, when she stopped herself mid-air before her hand reached Nick’s face, and pulled her hand back, embarrassed.

Nick was quite shocked by what she was about to do, and his ears twitched in surprise, but he didn’t say anything. He only wondered what made her change her mind when she cleared her throat and continued: “And the name? Why Illy?”

“It seemed appropriate,” Nick replied, “The cardboard I found her curled on, had a big ass red ILLY logo on it. Thought the name appropriate, that’s all.”

“Red ass logo like this one?” she turned over the beverage price list to point out the logo.

“Yeah, that one exactly!” Nick exclaimed.

“Now look under your coffee cup,”

Nick lifted up the cup, and there it was, big ass ILLY logo on the bottom. “Never noticed this before,” he mused.

“It’s the same coffee brand you’ve been drinking all this time,” she smiled.

“Who would have figured?” Nick gushed.

“Funny how life plays tricks on you, huh?” he scoffed, smiling, when his phone rang again.

“Ward?” Leah asked.

Nick nodded and reluctantly got up from the seat to shake her hand goodbye.

“Gotta go, Grumpy Cat. It was really nice seeing you today.”

She shook his hand back, smiling. “Yeah, you too fellow cat lover. Text me when you can, and give Illy a belly rub for me.”

She watched him as he made his way through the bar to the exit. His ass was so tight in those pants and those narrow hips swayed from side to side, making her swallow hard. She had no choice but to imagine that walk without any clothes on, as her brain would not have it any other way, when she heard laughter coming from the bar.

“Don’t make me throw this coffee cup in your face, Nat!” she yelled, still grinning, as Nick stood in a doorway for one last wave goodbye. She waved back letting out a muffled sigh, _I need him so bad._

She paused for a second, when she decided to run after him, yelling “NIIICK, WAIT!” as she jumped over the chairs. Nat was now laughing hard behind the bar, shouting, “Don’t break your neck, love!”

 

Leah caught up with Nick in the parking lot just as he was about to drive away.

“Something wrong?” Nick asked, lowering down the car window.

“Listen..” Leah shyly spoke, “Maybe I wasn’t very clear about this before, but can we maybe do something different for a change in the near future, like a real date or something?”

Nick stared at her excited with what he was hearing, his ears twitching again.

“Not that I don’t like you visiting me here, and please, do visit whenever you can, don’t wait till I invite you, consider it an open invitation,” she smiled, “But in here I have to wear this shitty perfume, otherwise our tips are bad,” Leah continued explaining, “That’s why I wanna do something outside of this environment, just you and me, when you can. I know your work is hectic, so just text me or call me when you have some free time, okay? I mean, if you’re interested in that sort of thing.”

Nick paused for a moment before smiling and replied, “Yeah, I’m definitely interested in that sort of thing.”

“Then it’s a deal,” she exclaimed happily, as she got close to the car window, “And please, do text me, call me, visit me, even bother me at work any time you feel like doing so?”

“Deal!” he replied quickly, excited.

“And no more of this Orkish nonsense about me asking you out first either. I wanna go on a date with you, any kind of date, outside this place, when you have time, okay?”

“Okay!” he smiled and reached out to shake her hand goodbye again.

As Leah watched Nick slowly drive away, Max and Anya moved away from the window above the entrance door which they used to spy on the romantic show that was happening in the parking lot. They turned to face each other, with smug expressions on their faces, sighing in relief.

“Thought that would never happen,” Max grunted.

“We’re not there yet,” Anya added, “I’m still going to need you to give them a little push in the right direction,” She mused.

“How sure are you about this?”

“Very sure. The prophecy does not lie. All the portents are all slowly coming true. It won’t be long now. Patience and a push in the right direction will yield positive results.”

“Never thought we’d be on this side of things, that’s all,” He shrugged.

“It’s the right side. If we want to defeat the Dark Lord, if we want to survive what’s coming our way.” Anya sighed.

“You’ve never been wrong thus far,” Max added as Anya squeezed her arm into his, “I’ll do what you say.”


	7. Surprises

You could say many things about Leah at first glance. Apart from being beautiful, she was always grumpy and sarcastic, with fixed resting bitch face, but all those things were lost somehow in the past few days, as others she came in contact with on a daily basis stared at her in disbelief, finding it hard to believe she was the same person.

This former sulky metal-head changed so much it was as though someone had flipped a switch on her personality, or switched her with a new, perky Leah, that was now smiling, skipping along the tables at work, dancing and rocking out to the music in the bar, hugging everyone, even Nat, for which she was extremely grateful, cause – boobs. Nat loved the new Leah, but unlike others in the bar, she knew the real reason behind her newfound happiness, and she knew how much a person could change when they met that one special person that makes them see the world in bright colors again. She, however, did not dare say a word about it, thinking she might change her mind and stop hugging her, and again - boobs.

_Whatever Nick was getting from her,_ she thought, _I’m getting a sweet deal on the side, too. Nat likes the booby hugs. Nat likes them a lot,_ she chuckled to herself, watching Leah in a happy, butterfly mode.

 

********************************************

 

That morning in particular she received a message from Nick, even before her alarm sounded. She’d usually lie in bed for few more minutes, trying to rest as much as possible, but not this morning. She sprung up so fast when she saw Nick’s name on the screen, it was as if Nat had pinched her butt.

 

********************************************

  

********************************************

 

She was really looking forward to seeing Nick again, relieved her little speech from the last time he was at the bar made him a bit more daring to finally muster up the courage and ask her out somewhere that wasn’t bar related. It wasn’t much, but she welcomed any time she got to spend with him.

Even though in her mind it was a good day, it felt like her shift just wouldn’t end, and she was becoming restless. It didn’t help her mood that as always, Anya was there on the balcony, staring down at her, with her cold yellow eyes. If she hated anything about this job, it would be Anya. Having her stare down every single day at times seemed worse than her first day.

_Doesn’t she have a life or friends, or something outside the bar?_ Leah thought, _she’s always here, watching like a hawk, and I can’t imagine anyone besides Max liking her one bit._ That sounded a bit harsh when she thought it, as this woman didn’t actually do anything to her, but still. The eerie feeling she got every time Anya would look at her didn’t let her think any better or her.

Leah instead kept busy washing and cleaning while Nat served tables. She occasionally eavesdropped on Nat giving hell to her designated driver Tor while he sat at the bar texting his new girlfriend, waiting for Leah so he can take her home and hurry back to his girl.

It was already ten till 5 when the next shift arrived and Leah sighed with relief knowing she would soon see him. Her plans however seemed halted when Max appeared in the storage room as she gathered her things to leave, calling her to his office.

_Just let me go home Max, I don’t have time for whatever you want to discuss today,_ she thought, frowning, but still followed him up.

_Yeah, does she have to be here,_ she thought when she saw Anya follow them into the office as well. _Like I’m gonna suck his cock or whatever._

She sat down and spared no moment by asking, “What’s up Max? You needed something?”

“You in a hurry?”

“I have like 10 minutes - Nick’s picking me up, so unless this is something extremely important?” she tried to hurry him.

“Nothing important, just wanted to go over a few things with you, we’ll be done by 5, don’t worry,”

“Okay, so what’s up?”

“I’ve been going through your paperwork, and I’m gonna need your full name - what does the A stand for? Says here, Leah A. Adama? And then there are few other documents that only say Leah Adama. I need your correct information so there’s no mistakes in all this paperwork,”

“Oh, it’s just my middle name. Angel,”

“Angel?” he asked in disbelief, quickly glancing at Anya.

“Yeah, my parents used to call me that when I was little, so after they died I decided to add it in the name officially. I’ll bring my passport and my green card tomorrow, those are brand new, all the info you’ll ever need is there, okay?”

“Sure, that would be great, thank you. That is a nice way of showing respect for your folks. Sounds like you were very close,”

“Well, quite the opposite, actually,” she sighed sadly, “They pushed boundaries quite a lot, sticking their noses in way too much stuff that was way over their heads. But, you know, they were my parents, and of course I was devastated with what happened. I’m a bit mad cause I always told them to be careful not to mess with that magic stuff, not all people want to use it for good, but they thought they were invincible, and look what happened…”

“You suspect foul play?” Max raised a brow.

“I don’t know what to think Max, I severed all ties I had with them when I turned 18, but all this magic nonsense seems to follow me wherever I go, you know? I came here to escape all that shit, and we both know what happened on my very first day here. Police said there was no foul play and I didn’t pursue it. I left our lawyers in charge of everything, and I came here,”

“In any case, it was tragic what happened to them, I’m sorry. I know they were quite the big name in the Magic world. There was some talk about some of your family being Bright’s?”

“Yeah, my folks often bragged how our family comes from a long line of Bright’s, passed on through the female side of the family, still - not _every_ female ancestor of mine was a Bright, and I certainly never saw my mother wielding a magic wand or whatever. All she ever wielded was this old, heavy, thick, smelly, Great Prophecy book she kept throwing in my face, telling me big destiny is waiting for me. I grew tired of that early on. Prophecy nuts freak me out,” she finished abruptly, trying to give Max a hint to stop interrogating her, as she knew Orcs were more or less into some magical shit, and she didn’t want any part of it.

“You didn’t seem too rattled with what that Elf said about you on your first day. Do you have any idea what he had meant by that?” Max continued prying while Anya gently massaged his shoulders, standing behind him.

“No idea Max, and can we please change the subject? I REALLY don’t like talking about my folks and magic and all that crap too much,”

“Sure, okay, didn’t mean to bother you,” he stuttered a bit, insulted she was trying to switch the conversation topic when he was doing so well milking her for background information on the command of his ever curious wife Anya.

“How do you like it here so far? In the bar I mean? You seem to be finding your way around rather quickly from what I’ve seen,”

“All is fine, no need to worry. I’m on good terms with people and work isn’t all that hard. If I do say so myself, I think I’m making myself quite at home here with everyone and everything,”

“Yes, I noticed. And I’m glad,” he smiled, “That bonus I promised you should also be visible in your account today, I added some extra so you’re not surprised.”

“Extra?” she asked in disbelief, “You shouldn’t have Max, but thank you,”

“Yeah I overheard Dee and Gunn the other day mention something about you being broke till your parent’s inheritance kicks in, so extra for you. Like I said, we’re family here. Treat yourself to something nice,”

“Wow Max. I don’t know what to say. Thank you so much,” she replied as she got up to squeeze his hand, her eyes tearing up, “There aren’t a lot of people in my life who were this kind to me,”

“Oh, before I forget, here,” he took out two VIP passes for Scar Symmetry and placed them onto the desk.

“Two passes?”

“Yeah, I figured you might wanna take Nick with you. You two seem to be kicking it off. He likes them as well, so why not make a proper date out of it?” he smiled, watching her shocked gaze as she reached out for the passes.

“And again, in less than one minute, I’m humbled by your generosity. Thank you Max, really. Was about to ask you for one extra, but you totally read my mind,” “No need to thank me, just have a good time, ok? Don’t forget that we work short on the day of the concert, and the day after we’re closed. We’ll be drunk out of our minds - don’t think anyone would be fit to work that day,” he laughed out loud, “Oh yeah, and Nat’s birthday is also on the day of the concert, we’ll be getting her a cake, so act like you don’t know anything?”

“My lips are sealed! Speaking of her birthday, I was thinking of getting her a vibrator. Just in case you had any wild ideas too.”

Max burst out laughing, holding his chest as he coughed in the process, ”I think that might be the best present for her, cause honestly, she needs those urges of hers to be taken cared of! We were thinking of getting her a stripper, so expect a show!” he still wheezed as Leah saw Anya sport a tiny little smile on that cold face of hers in support of her husband’s joke.

 

********************************************

 

Leah flew down the stairs, her things in tow, waving goodbye to the afternoon shift, slightly tapping Tor on his shoulder as she passed by.

“Bye Tor!” she chirped as she headed towards the exit.

“Huh, what, bye? Leah, wait!” he shouted behind her, finally pulling his eyes from his phone, “Where do you think you’re going without me, I’m your driver!”

“Not today you’re not. Nick’s waiting for me outside, he’s my ride home today,”

“You hear that love?” Nat appeared from behind him, “You’re free to go visit your new human girlfriend now,”

“How do you know she’s a human, huh?” he scoffed.

“Nothing gets past me, love” she laughed, only to see him smile in return, his only earlobe twitching in the process. “Besides, not many Orc girls are called Britney, and when y’all grin like that, it usually means one thing only - she’ll be biting on some things, and I don’t mean your good ear,” she teased, trying to make him uncomfortable, but Tor was no Nick, and he knew Nat and the games she liked to play.

“Yeah, she won’t be the one doing the biting Nat,” he winked at her, ”Now if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do, places to be. Let’s go, ladies.” he got up to usher them both out of the bar.

 

********************************************

 

Nick was already parked, waiting for Leah outside, trying to hide the happy smirk he always involuntarily had when he saw her approach.

“Hey you,” she greeted, nudging him with her shoulder.

“Hey Grumpy Cat,” he smiled as he opened the door for her.

“So, what pizza do you want?” she wasted no moment when he joined her in the car, “Dee is on her way home, she just texted to check what pizza to pick up for you. I always get pepperoni with extra cheese, and she has a thing for tuna pizza ever since she started going out with Gunn,”

“Yeah, tuna pizza will do fine for me too, we Orcs love tuna,”

“Okay, so I’ll just text her to upgrade her pizza to a bigger size, she always only eats one slice, and I gotta throw away the rest, and I’ve seen how much you can eat,” she laughed.

“How can you not love tuna?” Nick implored, “It’s the best thing ever - I’m telling you, me and Illy both agree!”

“Well, good to know,” she mused, already forming a plan in her head how to win Illy’s heart in the future.

The ride home was quick, as Nick told her he didn’t have much time for lunch, so he decided to abuse his power as a cop again, and turned on the lights and sirens to avoid the lunch rush, giving Leah a full experience of a car chase.

He watched her face light up in what he thought was excitement, when she realized what he had done, and she started laughing nervously when he stepped on the gas, trying her best to enjoy the ride as she clung to her seat, her nails dug deep just like a cat.

“I usually don’t do this,” he said as they pulled up to park, ”But I don’t have as much time for lunch as I thought I’d have, so I didn’t wanna waste any minutes.,”

“Well I quite _enjoyed_ the fake chase,”

“Is that why you had your nails dug up into the seat?” he teased.

“Hah, yeah, you noticed that,” she laughed nervously, “It’s just that my folks died in a speeding accident, and I guess I still have the fear buried somewhere in the subconscious.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Could have told me to drive slower...” he mumbled apologetically.

“Nicky, its ok. I need to learn how to deal with my demons anyways, don’t worry about it. So what’s this about you not having much time today, your boss on your ass again?”

“No, it’s my choice this time. I took up some extra work, been meaning to tell you about it today - in fact that’s why I wanted to see you today…” he said as they rode the lift up to Dee’s apartment.

“What’s on your mind?” she asked, puzzled.

“Well, you said you like Scar Symmetry, and they’re playing next week down at the Crematorium, so I bought us tickets for the show, that is, if you wanna go on a date with me?” he finished with an awkward smirk on his face, holding up 2 tickets he’d taken out of his pocket, “That’s the reason I got some extra work, to have 2 days off for the concert, you know, I can’t really work after all the head-banging and all,”

“Nick…” she paused, unlocking the doors to the apartment, “Well this is awkward,”

“You don’t wanna go?” he grew sad all of a sudden.

“No Nick, It’s just that I got us VIP passes today, courtesy of Max,” she cringed, looking up at him, only to have him laugh out loud, “Yeah, totally. Funny how life works sometimes, huh?”

“I’m sure we can get the money back for your tickets, I’ll tell Max what happened tomorrow, I’m sure he’ll understand,” she laughed back as they both entered the apartment where Dee was already waiting for them, munching on the tuna pizza.

“Hey you two lovebirds,” she greeted, her mouth full.

“Easy on the pizza there, groupie,” Leah teased, “You’ll get fat and Gunn won’t like you anymore!”

“Yeah, Orcs like big booty, right Nick?” she slapped him on the shoulder when he sat down beside her at the table.

“Huh? Yeah, yeah. I guess,” he stuttered, “I personally like skinny booty, too,” he added, glancing at Leah.

“Bet you do!” Dee elbowed him again.

“Give him a break Dee. See, we’re going on a proper date next week,” she flashed the VIP passes in front of her nose, handing Nick one, “You and Nat have to stop giving us both hell already,”

“I can’t help myself, you two are so damn cute,” she extended her arms to pinch both their cheeks at the same time, “But for the love of me I can’t understand why are you taking your sweet time about things. Life is short, jump at it, or him,” she turned to Leah while winking at Nick.

“Yeah I know you don’t waste time Dee, but I’m not you, and Nick is not Gunn, so behave, okay? Not all of us use Mix Match for hookups only.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll back off, but please tell me you kissed already?” she stared at both of them, her mouth agape, “Not even that? And you wonder why everyone is giving you hell? It’s been 2 fucking weeks since you met and still nothing? Sweet Lord! I need a smoke, you can have the rest of the pizza Nick,” she puffed, agitated as she got out onto the balcony.

 

********************************************

 

What Dee said left them both in silence as they slowly ate their pizza, sporadically throwing a glance at each other, but nobody dared to speak first. Leah wanted to remark on those cute ears of his, twitching again as he chewed, but she kept her mouth shut, smiling to herself.

Nick finally mustered up the courage and spoke, “What Dee said…”

“Please pay no attention to her or Nat - they’re mad, horny people.” Leah interrupted, “And they’re getting on my last nerve, honestly. They need to butt out of our affairs already, or I’ll just start slapping them,”

“Are we going _too slow?_ ” Nick was undeterred, “I’ve never been with a human before, and I really have no idea how things work - all I know are the rules that I was trying my best to respect when it comes to non-Orkish females and _dating_ them,”

“Well, we better stay from Nat and Dee’s advices then, they would have me jump your bones the moment I saw you!” she tried joking to ease the tension. _Not that I didn’t want it anyways, but I want more from you as well…_

“I never dated an Orc either, but I’m not concerned with rushing things, you know. They will happen when they need to happen, if _we_ want them to happen,” she took a breath to muster up some courage and reached out for his hand resting on the table.

He squeezed her hand gently, hardly believing what just happened, and just smiled in return while his ears were in a twitching frenzy. It was the first time she initiated any kind of romantic contact and he was beyond himself, even though he was trying to keep his cool.

For him, this meant one thing only, and that was he just got the green light to initiate all other physical, romantic contact in the future, and if he could, he would have jumped out of his skin, right there, right that moment, and started dancing at how happy he was.

“I’m not one of those guys looking for a quick fix, and I’m pretty much sure you’re not one of those girls like Dee,” he spoke quietly, trying to be polite about everything and hoping Dee wouldn’t hear him.

“You can call it what it is Nick, and no, I’m not an Orc groupie, nor am I looking to become one,” she added.

“I know you’re not,” he squeezed her hand some more, “I think we’re the victims of my job and insane schedule I have, and it’s only going to get worse in the next week or so because of the concert,”

“Yeah but when the concert comes, we’ll have almost 2 days to ourselves,” she interrupted him while she gently stroked the upper part of his palm with her thumb, “I’m working short on the day of the concert, and the day after I’m free as well. So…we better use it well,”

He nodded, still smiling at Leah, and then looked down to her hand still in his, knowing exactly what she meant by that statement, and his heart started pounding faster in his chest. He waited a moment, trying to calm himself when he realized his break was almost over and he needed to go back.

“I should go,” he got up, “With the traffic at this hour, I need an early start or Ward will give me hell for being late.”

“Okay,” she sighed sadly, as she got up to escort him out “Text, call, or whatever when you can, I won’t bother you too much since you’ll be busy, and I’ll sort the tickets mess tomorrow with Max…”

“I like it when you bother me, it’s the only thing that makes me smile lately,” he said as he stood in the doorway, “So bother me as much as you feel like, and I’ll reply when I can,”

“Okay,” she winked, “You might live to regret it,”

“I doubt it,” he said as he got awfully close to her, and to her surprise, pulled her quickly into his arms, embracing her awkwardly for the first time, mumbling into her messy bun, “I hate your work perfume,” his chest vibrating with his laughter and his fluttering heart.

“I promise, no fucking perfume next time,” she replied, still in his arms, her forehead glued to his cheek, while she batted her eyelashes against his skin, giving him some butterfly kisses.

Dee saw the scene and slowly emerged from the balcony and cooed, “Awwwww,” loud enough so they wouldn’t miss it.

“Bye Dee - Grumpy Cat,” he departed, letting go of Leah, his thumb tracing along her jawline.

She closed the door only to meet Dee’s excited gaze as she was heading toward her to give her a hug, “Don’t ever complain about me giving you hell or pushing you again, not after this!”

Leah said nothing, and just smiled, that big toothy grin frozen on her face, enjoying the hug-fest.

 

********************************************

 

“So what’s the plan for us today?” Dee was excited, “We shopping for me, for you, what?”

“Well I got that bonus Max promised today, so I was thinking of hitting my kind of shops. I’ll need new clothes for the concert and for work. And Nat’s birthday is coming up too, so I was thinking - and don’t freak out on me - maybe get her a vibrator? Since we’re out shopping already… I’m sure you know a few places, or a lot of places, when I think about it…”

“HA HA HA HA HA HA!” she burst out laughing while Leah stared awkwardly at her, “I’m sorry, I’ll stop - HAHAHAHAHA! I can’t even - you wanna go vibrator shopping with me, HAHAHAHA,” Dee’s laughter was out of control as she started shaking.

“So much for you not freaking out. Honestly, Dee, I’m not buying it for me,”

“DEE!” she yelled at her while she completely ignored her, ”Dee for cryin’ out loud,” she scoffed.

“Yeah, talk to the hand cause the head ain't listening,” she held her palm up while she was holding her stomach with her other, still wheezing.

 

********************************************

 

It took awhile for her to calm down, Leah still looking at her, mildly annoyed.

“I’m ok now, I’m okay,” she repeated, still throwing occasional laughter in between, “I know the perfect shop for you!”

“Okay then, are we ready to go, or do you still need a moment?”

“No, we can go.” Dee smiled grabbing her car keys, excited to start this unexpected adventure.

They spent the entire afternoon and early evening shopping, hitting different stores, some metal, some regular, some expensive ones too, cause Dee couldn’t resist her shopping fever every time they were out. There were no high end elf fashion shops in this part of the town, but to Dee, it was all the same as long as it had an expensive tag and a popular brand name. She always found at least one clothing item she didn’t need, but bought anyways.

Leah, unlike her, lived her whole adult life off the money she earned herself, even though her parents were loaded. So shopping at Payless for shoes was a normal thing for her, while Dee dreaded those kinds of shops. She would often stay outside the store or just wait for Leah in the coffee places nearby, cause God forbid one of her groupie friends saw her and thought she might be buying there, that would be like social suicide for her.

Finally they were done with everything, both pleased with items they bought, their hands full of shopping bags as they walked down the street while Dee lead the way to the biggest Sex Shop in this part of town. _Of course_ she knew the owner, and by going there she knew she’d get the best deal on their toys.

Few moments later they were before the store, blinding lights blinking in the windows alerting all pedestrians who were there by mistake that there was indeed a _sex shop_ in front of them, lasers writing in capital letters 'CUM ON IN', and TV monitors displaying women and men of all races dancing, half naked, inviting you in in several languages while sexy hostess blew kisses in your direction from the inside of the dimmed glass.

Leah was mildly shocked a place like this even existed in LA, dragging her feet slowly across the pavement in front of the store, holding on to Dee’s arm as they went for the entrance.

“What in the hell, Dee?” was the only thing she was able to utter as she dragged her through the door, completely overwhelmed and scared like a little mouse.

“Welcome to **SEXsation** , ladies,” they were immediately greeted by the hostesses, “Have a look around, and anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask,” they purred gently, tracing their fingers down their arms.

“How many floors is this thing?” Leah asked with her eyes widened, prying their hands from her.

“The toys are on this floor, and there’s more toys two more floors up, and if you’re looking for dungeons, they are below, in the basement.”

“No dungeons this time, thank you,” Dee was quick to reply, “Your Orkish cyber-skins, where do you keep them, still on the 1st floor?”

“First floor, first shelf on the left,”

“Thank you so much, and is Dick by any chance in today?”

“Why yes he is. He’s in his office at the moment,”

“Can you please let him know that Dee’s here? I’d appreciate it very much,” Dee purred back at the hostess.

“I will let him know immediately,” she smiled, “Will you be needing any help with the cyber-skins?” she asked politely.

“No thank you, we got it covered.” she finished the conversation, tugging on Leah’s hand, dragging her towards the stairs that lead to the first floor.

Leah’s jaw was still dropped in surprise; she didn’t expect this shop to be this much. She’s been in a Sex Shop or two, back home in Europe, but nothing like this. It took her a moment to come to her senses when she started slapping Dee’s shoulder, cat fight style, yelling at her, “Cum on in??? Dungeons in the basement? A guy named Dick owns this shop? And what the fuck is cyber-skin? What in hell Dee???”

“Relax babe, we’ll get you that perfect toy, for both you and Nat, and we’ll be out of here in no time,”

“We’re not getting a toy for me!” Leah exclaimed, annoyed.

“Well, you’re not getting a toy for you, but I certainly will. After what I saw this afternoon, you need some positive stimulations, and honestly that golden lipstick you got - what’s that good for anyway? You need something to fill you up until Nick is ready to take over the job,”

“Dee…”

“Don’t you _Dee_ me, just accept the gift cause I know you’ll be thanking me later when you try it. You can even name it Nick, if you’d like,” she teased.

“Dee…”

“Oh, here we are, Orc cyber-skins,” she shouted, walking towards a certain model on a shelf full of realistic Orc cocks, all shapes, sizes, patterns and shades of blue.

Leah was quite relieved, as there weren’t many people on this floor, as she followed Dee to the middle of the shelf, her face partially covered with her palm when Dee took her other hand and placed a rather large silicone vibrator in her palm, “You feel that? That’s cyber-skin!”

“MY GOD, DEE, WHAT!?” was soon replaced with, “Oh my God Dee, this silicone feels _so real,_ ” as she squeezed the rather massive vibrator in her hand, “Had no idea they made them this realistic,” she mused positively shocked, still squishing the soft pliable material between her fingers.

“Told you… So how about the size, you like this one, or bigger, smaller?”

“You tell me, I’ve never seen Orc cock up close and live, what is your best guess about Nick’s size?” Leah mused, smirking while she looked at all the choices this shelf had on display.

“This one right here, 9 inches should be about right, not too big, not too small,” she waved the box of a rather thick vibrator in Nick’s shade of blue in front of her face.

“I don’t think I can handle that much, Dee,” she laughed.

“Well you better get used to it hon, cause honestly I don’t think Nick’s cock is any smaller. Orcs are well endowed, but besides, with a little bit of lube, there’s nothing we girls can’t handle,” she winked at her.

“Okay, then that one it is,” she shrugged, “We should pick up one for Nat now.”

“What’s her preference now?” Dee asked dead serious.

“Girls, honestly, but she’s been giving me hell, and I wanna give her the biggest Orc cock this shelf has. She’s sexually handicapped as it is at the moment!”

“That would be this one,” she grabbed onto double sided massive Orc dong and started waving it again, “Figured since she into girls, she can use it with her girlfriend or alone huh?”

“That’ll work,” Leah laughed, “Let’s grab some lube, so we can go, this place is giving me the heebie-jeebies.”

“Sure okay, lubes are down by the counter.”

They were greeted by the same hostess as they went down to pay for their items, apologizing in Dick’s name, cause apparently he was rather busy in the dungeon, but sending his love and 40% discount coupon for his lovely Dee and her friend.

Dee seemed pretty bummed about not meeting with Dick, as she was rather looking forward to seeing him again, trying to hide her very visible disappointment. What Leah will learn later, was that Dick was “the one who got away” as he was the perfect mix of what Dee hoped for in a man. Huge cock, rich, had sex shop, and not too ugly, but his only flaw was that liked to switch his girls like socks, and Dee didn’t like sharing her men.

She sighed sadly as they both exited, not even in the mood for teasing Leah about testing her toy that night. Instead they drove home in silence, for which Leah was extremely grateful while Dee’s mind flew to Gunn as she dropped Leah off, craving to get to his place in need of that very much needed Orc-cock validation she desperately wanted.

They said their goodbyes as Leah exited the car, visibly struggling with all the bags from their shopping spree; her bags in one hand, Dee’s in another.

“Do I need to take your stuff up as well, Dee?” she protested, overloading herself.

“I just got you a very expensive sex toy, the least you can do is take my bags up,” she teased while Leah sarcastically wished her a ‘Good Night’ and slammed the door of the car with her leg, and slowly started wobbling towards the building entrance.

 

********************************************

 

She stared at her new toy for a moment before bedtime, wondering whether to use it tonight or not. But she quickly decided no, as she tucked it away in one of her drawers, remembering Nick’s hug from earlier today.

As she hugged the pillow, she craved to hold his hand again more than having him ravage her insides with his cock, and she wanted to be in his warm embrace again, just holding him, nuzzling his neck, kissing his face and ear gently… Something she thought, people like Dee and Nat often underestimated.

I need him, all of him… she thought, shutting off her lights.


	8. The dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of updates, been busy with life n' writing! Hope you enjoy chapter 8!  
> 2 more chapters left till the end of the part 1, things are heating up slowly ;-) You'll know what I mean when you read it :D
> 
> And as always, let me know your thoughts, your feedback is what keeps me going <3

It had been almost two days since she’d received any messages from Nick. She knew he had extra shifts during the week, as he had told her when she last saw him. But he got 2 days off for the concert, and that was the only thing that mattered. _Bloody slave driver, that chief of theirs,_ she thought to herself. Nick did warn her he would have little to no time to even reply to her messages, so she wasn’t really expecting anything until a blinking phone light alerted her to a text she received just as she was out of the shower before bedtime. 

 

********************************************

  

********************************************

 

 _Warm jacket? Where the hell is he taking me?_ She thought. _I’ll just dress casually, put on a rocker jacket. That should be enough. This is fucking LA, how cold can it get, even this late?_ She shrugged and started getting ready. _Thank God I already took a shower,_ she thought, _I’ll be done in a jiffy._

She quickly dressed; leggings, boots, over-sized one shoulder long-sleeve tee, and jacket. _I’m going for cute tonight, with a little touch of ‘I didn’t try too much’._

She tied her hair in a messy bun, and put some mascara on. No perfume this time; she knew Nicks’ been trying to smell her for days to get some insight as to her feelings, and tonight, she wanted to give him a chance to take a proper whiff. _This tease-fest has been going on long enough, time to do something about it._

As much as she was scared to initiate anything big, she knew if she continued to keep the physical contact to a minimum, not much would happen anytime soon. She knew Nick needed encouragement, so initiating something bigger than just hand holding now seemed like a very good idea, as she didn’t want to overwhelm the poor guy the day of the concert, where she initially planned her full on attack.

 _I fucking hate I have to initiate everything,_ she sighed, _but you gotta do what you gotta do._ Another shrug was accompanied by a sigh of relief as she decided she looked good, checking herself out in the mirror by the door. Seconds later, her phone buzzed, and she knew Nick was down.

 

_This time, I’m hugging him hello. No more fuckin' hand-shakes or nudges._

 

Nick was leaning against his car parked before her building. His arms were crossed, his head down. He was so tired and sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open. Going on a road trip this late was definitely not one of his brightest ideas, but he wanted to see Leah badly, and this was the only time he could take her up the hill to his favorite place.

She spotted him as she exited the main door, and called out to him immediately waving hello. “NICK!” she shouted, and he looked up as though someone had tased him.

Her pace was quickening and he could see the smile on her face getting bigger and bigger as she drew closer. He couldn’t help but smile himself seeing her approach him, and as he stood straight to greet her with an extended hand, she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a big hug.

 

For a moment there, Nick was taken aback, almost forgetting that hug goodbye he gave her last week, but decided to play along and hugged tightly around her waist. After all, two can play this game, and now, he was allowed to.

“Missed you…” She whispered in his ear, only to see it twitch in excitement.

She loved provoking him - to see those cute ears of his twitch. _Just wanna nom on them how cute they are_ she thought, smiling.

“Missed you too Grumpy Cat,” he sighed, and held her even tighter, trying not to smell her right away; that would be too obvious. _She’s not wearing any perfume tonight,_ he smiled shyly to himself. His eyes widened the moment it finally dawned on his tired mind, as to what it actually meant, as he still held her tightly in his arms. _She wants me to smell her._

 

The hug did not last as long as either would’ve wanted. Too many people in the street staring, so Leah decided to prolong the moment by still keeping contact as they slowly started to separate. This was a perfect opportunity for her to try and hold his hand a bit longer, while she slowly let go of his embrace, tracing her fingers down his arms.

 _I’ll just pretend it wasn’t on purpose. Part of the moment._ She thought, trying to hide her smile.

 

“You okay?” she asked, holding his hand, “I don’t need to have an Orc nose to tell me you haven’t slept? You look like you could fall asleep right here, right now,”

“I’m okay. Just dead tired. Been running on fumes last couple of days. But I’m happy to see you,” he replied shyly.

Leah smiled back and gently pushed him backwards towards the car, still holding his hand.

“So where are you taking me this late?” she tried to tease, staring directly into his amber eyes.

“Somewhere you’ll definitely be cold, wearing only _that,_ ” he scoffed as his other hand tugged one side of her jacket.

“Well in that case you’ll have you to warm me up, won’t you?” she smiled, “Isn’t it true that Orcs run a little hotter than humans?”

“Yeah, we’re pretty hot,” he said in confirmation, only to make her laugh out loud.

“Yeah, I know you are,” she tried to flirt, giving his hands a little squeeze.

“I meant our body temperature,” he tried to correct himself.

“I know what you meant, but I meant it both ways.” she blurted out laughing, and winking at him.

 

Now Nick was wide awake and alert. This wasn’t Leah’s usual behavior. He caught her by surprise the last week with that hug, but this type of behavior was something totally unexpected.

 _Something is definitely different._ This new side of her was giving him hope, that maybe she was ready for a little more. _As long as she’s the one who throws the first ball, I’ll play along,_ he thought, now smiling.

 

“Shall we?” he nodded his head in the car doors direction. “We need to hurry a bit, I would hate for us to miss it,”

“Miss what? Tell meee! Where are we going? Come on Nick!” she begged impatiently.

“I’m taking you to a favorite place of mine, up in the hills. I know a little spot with a view. I used to go there all the time when work was slower to enjoy the view and my time alone. That’s all I’m saying,”

“You better not take me to one of those make out spots!” she teased, secretly hoping _exactly_ that.

“Car,” he replied, pointing to the door with a smile, “We need to move or we’re really going to be late.” Leah sighed sadly and walked towards the door, realizing that in just a few moments she’d have to let go of his hand.

Nick opened the door for Leah, finally letting go of her hand. He stared at her hand as he was letting go, not liking it one bit. It was only few minutes, but he enjoyed the feeling of having her tiny hand rested in his big Orkish paw.

As they stopped for a moment to look at each other, it became clearly visible on both their faces: they were a bit sad they had to stop touching, but they had to move on, and fast. Nick quickly walked to his side of the car, but Leah caught him by surprise by grabbing his hand again as soon as he started the car. They both paused, looking at each other, smiled, and said nothing while their fingers slowly intertwined.

“I bought us hot chocolate,” Nick interrupted the brief moment of quietness brought on by Leah’s sudden gesture. He motioned towards the cup holders, “I figured chocolate instead of coffee this time, as both of us need to get some sleep later tonight,”

“Wise man,” she added, “Love me some hot chocolate!” Leah said, reaching for cup closest to her.

“Take any cup you’d like, haven’t touched them yet.” Nick mentioned.

“Even if you did, I don’t mind your cooties,” she flirted.

 

Nick turned to look at her as she sipped her chocolate, still steaming, then lowered his gaze to look at their fingers still intertwined, and smiled for a brief moment. He said nothing, but his head was buzzing.

_Something is definitely different tonight, and I like it._

 

********************************************

 

The drive was indeed very short, but Nick seemed more nervous, almost anxious as they started going uphill. He was constantly looking outside the window, checking the sky for something, letting out a worried sigh or two here and there.

“You know, the full moon is visible from my side of the car, if that’s what you’re trying to see,” Leah interrupted the weird silence.

“Oh, it’s not that, don’t worry about it. We’re almost there anyways. Looks like we’ll be right on time,” he simpered.

“Still not telling me?” she asked, gently punching his shoulder.

“Nope. Anyone ever told you you’re an impatient woman?” he teased.

“Just don’t like surprises, that’s all,” she shrugged and gasped as Nick slowed the car to a full stop.

The view in front of them was spectacular. Nick turned off the engine and car lights so they could marvel at the view from the warm car before they faced the cold evening breeze outside.

LA city lights were sparkling in the distance and the entire town was bathing in the moonlight. _Very romantic indeed,_ Leah thought.

 

“Is this it?” she asked nervously, squeezing his hand, “It’s a beautiful view. Quite breathtaking,”

“Part of it, anyways,” Nick replied, “We go outside now, and please try to be as quiet as you can, we don’t wanna scare them off.”

“Scare who off, Nick?”

“You’ll see soon enough,” he smiled, “And please, no loud noises of any kind. And zip that jacket up - there’s a gnarly breeze outside this time of night.”

 

They both exited the car at the same time, not saying a word, and met up in front of his car. Leah immediately felt the cold breeze sneaking its way under her clothes and started to shiver.

 

“You were right about the cold,” she whispered, nudging his shoulder, “Don’t’ think mere hand holding will raise my body temperature enough to survive this,” she teased.

He hesitated for a moment, but decided to play along. After all; two can play this game, he thought again as he opened the side of the jacket that was closest to her and said “You need only ask, I bite only per request,” and gave her the biggest grin ever.

Leah didn’t need much convincing, and immediately replied with, “Can I please use you as a heater tonight? I promise I’ll bite only by request too?”

“Request granted Grumpy Cat, but let me get a blanket from the trunk also, I keep one in there just in case - would be cozier that way. Don’t want you to catch a cold dressed like that.” he whispered and walked towards the back of the truck to fetch the blanket.

 

 _Oh, he’s playing along nicely,_ she thought with a smirk, watching him walk back, _there’s hope for us yet._

 

********************************************

 

She snuggled tightly under his left arm, wrapping her arms around his waist and torso, her head nestled right under his chin while he threw on the blanket, wrapping them both so only their heads were visible.

They both sat on the warm hood of the car, enjoying this new situation; this awkward but releasing moment, more than they cared to admit, carefully looking, listening, and waiting, when the loudest, horrifying shriek punctured through the silence, sending chills down Leah’s spine. She twitched and jumped in panic.

“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?” she hissed, looking up at Nick.

“Shhhh! Nothing to be afraid of, relax,” Nick tried to calm her down, “No need to be scared. It’s about to start,”

 _“What’s_ about to start?”

“The magic show.” he replied with a huge grin on his face.

 

The shrieking continued as two large figures started emerging from down the hill, now getting closer and closer to them. Leah couldn’t quite see them just yet, but she recognized the silhouettes.

 

“ARE THOSE DRAGONS?” she asked, mesmerized.

“Yeah,” he confirmed, burying his nose into the top of her messy bun, “It’s their mating dance. They do this twice a year. Now be quiet and enjoy the show! They’re getting closer.”

Nick was right. She could feel how close they were as the shrieking got louder, and the wind from their wings was only adding to the chilled air. She would never admit this out loud to Nick, not in this romantic setting, but she was terrified of the dragons. And she definitely wasn’t this close to them at any point in her life. _Mustn’t ruin the moment,_ she thought, and snuggled closer to Nick.

Just as she thought her panic will get the best of her, both of the dragons soared into the sky, spitting fire.

 

“WHOA!” She gasped, as she started to realize why Nick wanted her to see this.

 

The dragons were flying in sync constantly, never breaking the pattern, as though she was watching a weird repeating ballet in the sky, but with each move they made, with each flap of their wings, she was drawn in more and more. When they started spitting fire into the air, creating this spectacular light show, aided by the city lights and moonlight reflected on their scales and wings, she couldn’t help but stare and gasp at this surreal and magnificent dance, even though she flinched back every time they came close to them.

She watched them in awe, twirling around each other one moment, then charging at one another, biting each other’s necks in the process, and every time the neck biting happened, she would look up at Nick, only to see him stare down at her, smiling.

 

It was quite a view to behold, and Leah enjoyed every minute of this romantic sky show.

“This is incredible,” she whispered, nuzzling his neck.

“Thought you might like it,” he whispered, “Too bad it doesn’t last long. Only few minutes and they’re gone. I was worried we might be late,”

“I’m glad we came,” She said, as they watched the dragons slowly disappear in the distance, “Even though I’m more relaxed now when they’re so far away from us.” she admitted, nesting her head under his chin.

 

They enjoyed the view for few more minutes in silence, until Leah shuddered involuntarily, reminding Nick she was still quite cold, when he looked down at her, still in his arms, and reluctantly suggested they should get going.

 

“Can we stay like this for few more minutes?” she begged, looking up at him while she slowly moved her hand across his chest.

“Didn’t you have enough time to grope me when the light show was on?” he played, feeling her hand travelling gently up and down his torso, “Didn’t think I’d notice, huh?”

“I was afraid for my life most of that time you know - to fully enjoy it, so why don’t you give me a few minutes now, exclusively for groping?” she teased back.

“Go ahead.” he agreed, and his heart started pumping loudly.

 

Her hands were now gliding up and down his body, and she thoroughly inspected every single part of him that she could reach, starting with the _magnificent butt, the beautiful peach she wanted a bite of,_ as she called it. His heart started pounding faster and faster in his chest, and Leah noticed it. She noticed a lot more as it didn’t take much to involuntarily react to her touch, after all; he’s been longing for it ever since he saw her on that damn app. He felt his manhood beginning to swell and rise, when his natural instincts took over and he leaned forward slowly growling, wanting to plant few kisses on her neck, while he struggled to bury his face into her messy hair to take in her scent, only to suddenly realize, sniffing her in this state of mind would only make it worse.

 

 _Step back Nick, she has to initiate it,_ the voice screamed in his head, while the hot, burning scent of her desire flared through his nostrils. _My God - she wants me. She wants me bad._

 

“Ohhh I’m so sorry,” he apologized and slightly pushed her away from himself, “This is a little more than I can handle tonight.”

“Did I do something wrong?” she asked, worriedly.

“No, absolutely not. You are… _perfect…_ I… Was finally able to smell your skin properly,”

“Yeah, I didn’t wear perfume tonight like I promised the last time, thought it might finally show you how I feel about you,”

“I noticed. It is quite… overwhelming,”

“What does that mean?” she asked in a serious voice.

“Well… When a woman is interested in a man, her skin exudes this marvelous pheromone scent which attracts men. Orcs can smell it in full, unlike humans. And yours is unusually strong… For a human. That’s all,” he tried to explain, “I never came across anyone with such potent scent. Honestly, it’s burning through me like fire, and it’s feels a bit like my own personal brand of drug. It’s so easy to get intoxicated on that scent only, and forget myself for a moment, do something too rough, you know, maybe do something you should have initiated first. If you know what I mean?” he paused, looking at her, trying to see if she understood him,” So I have to take a step back, until we’re both ready for more.”

“I see.” she replied quietly, “I’m… Sorry? Do I need to apologize for liking you then? Coz I can’t really control my pheromones?” she mumbled, trying to break the tension.

“I like your pheromones, maybe a little bit too much.” he reached out to stroke her face with a back of his palm, “But trust me when I say, this is a good thing, and the right time will come for us to fully act on our desires.” he whispered and took both her hands into his own to pull her in closer for a hug.

“Okay, I’m glad that’s settled then,” she sighed, and started teasing, “You poor baby, pitching a tent down there just by smelling me,” he scoffed shyly in reply when she continued, “Hey, it’s a compliment really! It’s very comforting to know that my mere scent can cause all that.” They both started laughing.

“Let’s go home.”

 

********************************************

 

The car ride back home was somewhat silent, but the hand holding continued, while Nick still stared at their intertwined fingers, hardly believing all the things that happened on the hill, and the goofy grin still present on his face while his heart still pounded loudly in his chest.

 

“Can’t wait for the concert,” she said longingly, looking at him as they pulled up in front of her building. “But not for the reason you might think.”

“Yeah, I know you never saw them perform live,” Nick tried to crack a joke.

“Don’t be silly” she said, slapping him lightly across the chest with the back of her hand, “I’ll miss YOU!”

“I know grumpy cat. I’ll miss you too.” he leaned in to run his fingers across her face.

She leaned in too, only to cup his face with both her hands and place a kiss on the side of his cheek near his cute pointy ear. The ear twitched again, making Leah smile while she stroked the side of it as she let go.

 

“Good night Nicky, sleep well.” she said as she was already halfway outside the car. “See you soon.”

“Good night grumpy cat.” he replied, watching her wave goodbye, waiting for her to completely disappear behind the main door of her building.

 

 _Good night indeed_ he mused, _as for sleeping, that remains to be seen. How the hell am I supposed to sleep after a night like this?_ He sighed looking down to his crotch. He was still pitching a tent down there, her smell was still burning hot through his nostrils.

 

********************************************

 

Roads were unusually empty that evening, so he was home rather fast. He parked in the garage and as he was about to lock the car, when he spotted the blanket still on the back seat.

 

 _No wonder I couldn’t get rid of her scent,_ he scoffed lightly, smiling.

 

He took the blanket out, carefully folded it, tucked it under his arm and took a big whiff as he entered the elevator. “My god her scent is so intoxicating.” he whispered to himself while he continued.

 _Thank god everyone on the floor is asleep,_ he thought. He didn’t need any spectators watching him walk weirdly to his apartment due to his crotch situation getting bigger and on the verge of exploding, all the while sniffing the blanket like a mad man.

He barged into the apartment in a rush, not even stopping to greet Illy as he entered, but walked straight to his room, threw the blanket on the bed, and went for the bathroom. His pants were down in a second, his manhood in his hand. There was barely enough time for a few strokes before the eruption of his accumulated desire for Leah. He groaned as he came, looking at the ceiling and whispering her name as the quick release left him shaking. _Fuuuuck, Leah…_

 

********************************************

 

 _Fuuuuuck Nick…_ Leah outed a silent whimper that left her legs trembling, and her breathing still uneven and heavy as she peaked with a help of her massive new friend, still thinking about Nick’s tent, his hugs, the way it felt to hold his hand, and touch his ear, kiss his cheek...

_I will definitely sleep good tonight._

“Dee was right,” she laughed at her vibrator, turning it off, “You did well tonight my little buzzing friend. And I should totally name you Nick!”


End file.
